Welcome to my practice.

In my experience, an effective therapy weaves past and present. I use a relational psychodynamic approach, which means that while we address immediate concerns, I also encourage exploration of how past experiences may be contributing to present-day dilemmas. We’ll talk about ‘the now,’ but also pay attention to what is ‘just under the surface.’ With thoughtfulness and curiosity, we’ll gradually build an understanding of your emotional experience including certain assumptions, beliefs and expectations that may be at play, where such feelings come from, their usefulness to you and, if relevant, consider and explore new ways of being.

I am a Licensed Psychotherapist (Clinical Social Work License No. 71159) and a Clinical Consultant. Having obtained my Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago, I received a Master's of Social Work from Smith College School for Social Work. I completed a Post-MSW Fellowship at UC-Berkeley, and received advanced training in relational psychodynamic psychotherapy at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley, California. I am also an educator and have taught classes at Mills College, Smith College, The Psychotherapy Institute, ACCESS Institute, Women’s Therapy Center and California Institute for Integral Studies. 

As a therapist, I believe individuals learn from a multitude of sources. Using new frames to look at what is familiar facilitates a different encounter, often resulting in novel, sometimes unanticipated, understandings. In my writing, I am keen to explore how clinical work can benefit, deepen and improve from interdisciplinary considerations, including the wisdom offered through creative processes such as nature, fiction, visual arts and multimedia (to name just a few).

Publications.

Jamali, A. Mendez, T. “Know Whence You Came:” Psychoanalytic Theory, Queer Theory and Mixed-Race Experience. Psychoanalytic Social Work (2019).

Affiliations.

  • International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy.

  • National Association of Social Workers.

  • Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology.

  • The Psychotherapy Institute.