Holistic Mental Wellness Therapy Center | Oakland CA | 94610

Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center in Oakland, CA helps families, couples, individuals and children with mental health, trauma, grief and life changes

  • Holistic Mental Wellness Therapy Center | Oakland CA | 94610
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Laura Gardner

she/her

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

LMFT 53622

Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology

Bio Photo

How I Can Help

Does it feel like nothing is ever good enough and neither are you? You don’t have to feel this way—therapy helps. We will work together so you can learn to calm yourself down, build confidence, feel more hopeful, communicate more effectively, build and have better relationships, feel comfortable in your own skin, feel whole, and much more!

My areas of focus include relationship issues; perfectionism; compulsive behaviors (overeating, drinking, dieting, work, sex...); trauma (e.g. rape, abuse, car accidents...); couples (interracial and interfaith); and cross-cultural issues. I have a warm and direct style and whether you’re seeing me as an individual or as a couple, you will come away from our work with more choice and freedom in your life.

Passion for my work combines my interests in the body/mind connection, love of diverse cultures, and fascination with human nature. I love what I do and truly respect my clients' willingness to bring their inner world to the forefront. Let's talk so you can begin the journey to feel better.

About Me

Holistic therapist. EMDR practitioner. John F. Kennedy University alumna. Connecticut College alumna. Thought partner. Grateful Heart marketing coach. Former Grateful Heart board member. Dog mom. Anti-racist. Bay Area native. World traveler. Music lover. Former yogi. Metaphysical ponderer. And much more...

My Background and Experience

While my life and work experiences are varied and diverse, you may wonder what qualifies me to help you. I’ve been supporting individuals and couples in a private practice setting since 2006, and have been licensed since 2013. My experience includes facilitating diversity and inclusion staff workshops at UC Berkeley; working with sexual assault survivors at Rape Trauma Services; and counseling children individually and in groups in a school setting. I’ve formally studied attachment-focused EMDR; anatomy and massage; Ashtanga and Anusara yoga; and had a nearly 20-year career at UC Berkeley in various positions before and while I became a therapist.

My Approach

With me, no topic is off limits! One of my mentors recalled this kernel of truth, "Trauma and injury happen in relationship, so healing has to happen in relationship as well." I like to add humor at times in sessions (only when it’s appropriate, of course), and our sessions will include some of the following:

    ​

  • Body awareness
  • Mindfulness and breathing
  • Relatable stories
  • Questions
  • Art—like drawing
  • EMDR
  • Exploring your personal history
  • In-the-moment observations
  • Challenging negative beliefs
  • Props like pillows and blankets
  • Focusing on our interpersonal dynamics
  • Or we'll just talk!
Client Ages
  • Young Adult: 18-25
  • Adults: 25-65
I Provide Therapy To
  • Individuals
  • Premarital Couples
  • Couples
Other Areas of Expertise/Interest
  • Activists
  • Adoptees
  • Artists
  • Immigrants
  • Interfaith Couples
  • LGBTQIAA+ persons
  • Men
  • Military Personnel
  • Persons Experiencing Grief and Loss
  • Persons in Polyamorous Relationships
  • Persons Recovering from Traumatic Events/Experiences
  • Persons Struggling with/Recovering from Addiction
  • Persons with Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Persons with Histories of Physical or Emotional Abuse

Interracial Couples

Supplemental Training or Certification Completed
  • EMDR
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
  • Relational Psychotherapy
  • Somatic Psychotherapy
  • Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy
  • Other:

Attachment-Focused EMDR

More About My Practice

I have a very strong conviction to create a more equal, just, inclusive, and diverse world. It’s important to me that we continuously fight racism, sexism, and discrimination of all kinds (especially given our current political climate). I’ve led diversity and inclusion trainings with UC Berkeley staff about privilege, mental illness, and unconscious bias, to name a few. My interest in diversity and inclusion comes from growing up in the Bay Area; having a bilingual education; working with ESL students, professors, and international executives; spending a lot of time in in the Caribbean and Europe; having queer and straight friends and clients; and being a great-grandchild of immigrants. I give either time or money to the National Museum of African-American History, the Humane Society, the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Geographic, and various smaller nonprofits.

Types of Payments Accepted
  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card
Full Fee

$150

Sliding Scale Range

$120-$150

Sliding Scale Openings

No

Phone

(510) 594-4300

Email

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Website

holisticgardner.com

Office Address

1240 Powell Street, Emeryville, CA 94608

Availability
  • Monday Afternoon
  • Monday Evening
  • Wednesday Afternoon
  • Wednesday Evening
  • Thursday Afternoon
  • Thursday Evening
  • Friday Afternoon
  • Saturday Morning
  • Saturday Afternoon
Scheduling Instructions

The best way to check my availability is to email me at contact@holisticgardner.com or contact me through my website. I am accepting new clients through tele-therapy via video and/or phone to all who want to be seen during this time.

Last Updated

04/10/2020

Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center

We offer affordable teletherapy (therapy by phone and by video) throughout the Greater Bay Area and California. Please call us today to schedule a preliminary meeting. Our services are offered in multiple languages during day and evening hours, 7 days per week. Compassionate and dedicated, our clinicians will provide you with care sensitive and responsive to your needs.

510-394-5065
admin@gratefulhearttherapy.org

MAILING ADDRESS
360 Grand Avenue, #46
Oakland, CA  94610

TIN: 20-5284226
NPI: 1942650239

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Internships

We offer a supportive private practice internship program, allowing pre-licensed clinicians (AMFT/ASW/APCC) to earn an income, accrue hours towards licensure and develop the clinical and entrepreneurial skills required for success in private practice. During the Coronavirus pandemic, we are continuing to accept new associates, helping them to launch practices as teletherapists. We also occasionally accept newly licensed clinicians, helping them to launch their private practice careers.

Services

In response to the Coronavirus, we now focus on providing teletherapy (therapy by phone and video) to our clients. Teletherapy can be helpful to individuals of all ages, including children and teenagers. Couples and families can also benefit from the convenience, flexibility and effectiveness of teletherapy. Please call or write us today to learn more about our services.

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Grateful Heart Holistic Therapy Center is a 501(c) nonprofit organization providing psychotherapy services for children, teens, adults, couples, families and groups, internships for pre-licensed MFT/LPCC clinicians
and educational opportunities for mental health practitioners.