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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Matthew Van Pelt

he/him

  • Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist

AMFT #122350

Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology

Bio Photo

How I Can Help

When we feel threatened and vulnerable, we resort to desperate behaviors to get us through the day: numbing out with screens or drugs, revving up with anger, and a hundred other fight/flight/freeze responses. The problem is that these behaviors can become calcified, and we get stuck in a pattern. What starts out as protective becomes a prison.

I work with teens and adults to explore new behaviors and develop insights into these psychological snags. The aim is to build executive functioning and emotional intelligence while facilitating the transition to healthy independence. In my conception of therapy, these “upward spirals” are both supported by and promotive of a more loving relationship with the self.

My style can be directive or non-directive, depending on the needs of the individual, but is always warm and engaged, with a healthy dash of humor.

My Background and Experience

My passion for working with individuals to promote self-acceptance and sustainable growth traces back to my experience as a tutor and college application consultant. Through that work, I gained expert knowledge of the worlds of high school and college education and became specially attuned to the unique difficulties—and opportunities—of youths in transition. I also came to realize that most often, the fundamental barriers to change are internal and emotional in nature.

I have lived and worked in countries around the world, but the Bay Area will always be my home. I’m a lover of art, music, and beauty of all forms, and constantly seek out opportunities to incorporate creative expression and appreciation into my practice.

My Approach

I begin with the understanding that transition is hard.

Not only is the future unknown, but the foundations of the past, once familiar and secure, become destabilized as well. Anxieties encroach. Connections are lost. Yet, I believe that moments of transition also contain immense potential for positive change. Helping my clients discover that potential is what I love most about my work.

The individuals I work with often know what they want less of—be it self criticism, tension in a particular relationship, or any of the myriad other challenges that enter our lives and create a sense of overwhelm or fatigue.

Therapy helps, and I am here to lend skillful support in finding relief. However, my work with clients also focuses on evoking and identifying what they want more of in their lives—what nourishes them, what instills energy and fulfillment. With curiosity, warmth, and acceptance, I walk beside my clients, helping them to forge brighter paths forward.

Client Ages
  • Youth: 12-18
  • Young Adult: 18-25
  • Adults: 25-65
  • Seniors: 65+
I Provide Therapy To
  • Individuals
  • Couples
  • Families
  • Groups

Social Anxiety, Performance Anxiety, Sleep Problems, Body Dysmorphia, Grief, Loss, and Depression, Social Isolation, Online Learning Challenges, Maintaining Healthy Relationships in Quarantine, Video Games/Screen Addiction, Loss of Rituals/Markers of Transition, Needs of Gifted Students, ADHD

Supplemental Training or Certification Completed
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy
  • Gestalt Therapy
  • Humanistic Therapy
  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
  • Relational Psychotherapy
  • Other:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Existential Therapy

More About My Practice

My other areas of interest and expertise include grief counseling, pandemic counseling, “Post-Trump Stress Disorder,” and work with older adults. That said, the most important element of a productive therapeutic relationship is chemistry, so regardless of your specific concern, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you feel we may be a good fit.

Types of Payments Accepted
  • Credit Card
Full Fee

$150

Sliding Scale Range

$80-$140

Sliding Scale Openings

Yes

Phone

(510) 859-4448

Email

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Website

vanpeltcounseling.com

Office Address

I’m offering sessions online for now, but will be considering spaces in East Bay with the eventual return to normalcy.

Scheduling Instructions

To set up a free 20-minute consultation, please call, email, or send a message through my website.

Supervisor Name & License Type/Number

Rawna Romero, LMFT #41466

Last Updated

04/23/2021

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.