Reina Peterson, AMFT

OFFERS ONLINE THERAPY IN CALIFORNIA

ASSOCIATE Marriage and Family Therapist

EDUCATION

Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, Cal Poly Humboldt

I am a female Associate Marriage and Family Therapist using she/her pronouns.  I grew up in the North Bay, and now live in San Francisco with my partner and our dog.  My clients and colleagues find me to be warm, attuned, compassionate, gentle, and light hearted when appropriate.

I am a recent graduate of Cal Poly Humboldt, where I received my masters’ degree in Counseling Psychology. I obtained my undergraduate degree from University of California Berkeley. I am an associate member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, as well as the San Francisco chapter. I am a registered AMFT (Associate Marriage and Family Therapist), supervised by a licensed member of our staff. 

APPROACH TO COUNSELING

To invoke the wisdom of Two Trees Sullivan: “In times of challenge we default not to our highest self, but to our strongest practice.”  Relationships are the venue in which so many of our greatest challenges, insecurities, and old wounds make themselves known. Our practices in relationships, including our routines, rituals, habits, and communication styles, are informed by many factors outside of our values. Perhaps you’ve taken great steps to make changes in your relationship, only to find that the same behaviors and thoughts are activated, causing painful patterns to repeat themselves again and again.

While conflict and disharmony in relationships can be deeply distressing, they are also an opportunity to understand what you and your partner are each yearning for.  Through effective repair, we can seize this opportunity to deepen trust, intimacy, and connection. In our work together, you will have the opportunity to identify, refine and strengthen your best practices for communication, constructive conflict, and effective repair in your relationship. 

Interdependence is the foundation of our species’ origins and early development; I believe that healthy, nurturing connection is a salve for many of our crises in modernity. In counseling, we have a saying that “the relationship heals”; when security is achieved or renewed in a relationship, comfort, healing and growth are assured for both individuals, and prosperity may be achieved that is sometimes elusive at an individual level. 

In session, we will use your lived experience and intuition in combination with evidence-based practices to build a therapy that is uniquely your own. We will draw from attachment theory and numerous theoretical orientations, including Emotion Focused Therapy, Gottman methods, and more. I have experience and specific training in working with trauma, and utilize a trauma-informed approach. I invite you to embark on this path with an open mind, and am honored to walk alongside you.