love. safety. trust.

counseling for the San Francisco East Bay communities of Oakland

life is a one-time deal. what will you do?

free domestic violence & child abuse counseling

Healing the Mind by Trusting your Intuition

Do you feel like you can't stop thinking or worrying? Do you feel cut off from your emotions, or as if your emotions are out of control? Do you feel anxious, depressed, or angry all the time? Are you finding that your relationship to your partner, child, or family is suffering?

It seems that exactly when things are at their worst, life is always there to show the way through. It also seems that even when our bodies and minds become accustomed to fear, anger, and shutting down, there is still a voice within that we can use to navigate through to something new. I help people learn to reconnect with this voice and use it to heal.

I help people who have been through bad stuff feel alive, connected, whole, and full of love. I find that when people learn to listen to their intuition and their gut feelings, that they not only heal from old stuff, but develop a connection to something greater.

I'm Matthew Lindgren, a licensed marriage and family therapist. I have an office near Mills College just off the 580 in Oakland, near Hayward and San Leandro. I specialize in treating adults, children, couples and families who have PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. I am trained in EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, clinical hypnosis, and couples therapy.

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FREE domestic violence & child abuse counseling

You may qualify for up to 40 sessions of free counseling if you or your child has experienced domestic violence or child abuse under the state of California's Victim Compensation Program.

In California, it is considered child abuse when a child is a witness to domestic violence. If you have filed a police report or have had to interact with Child Protective Services, you may qualify even if the case did not result in a conviction.

The Victim Compensation Program provides counseling to victims of other crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, and rape. Compensation may also be available to parents, partners, caregivers, and siblings of crime victims.

I offer on-site counseling sessions at home for many of my clients from the Victim Compensation Program, many of whom live in foster care. I realize that it can be difficult for foster parents and group home caretakers to bring children to therapy. I believe that transportation should never be a barrier to quality and necessary medical care. I am happy to work directly with your child's social worker to arrange counseling sessions for your child at your convenience.

I can handle all the details to help you apply. Just call.

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couples counseling ~ save your relationship

Why wait any longer? If you've tried unsuccessfully to make things work on your own, you may need to find an an expert to help move your relationship back where it belongs.

I can help you as a couple repair your trust and love to have a wonderful life-long caring partnership. I help couples who are dealing with issues such as cheating, arguing, and not connecting. Often, when couples stray apart, it is because they feel too hurt or angry to relate to each other. I help couples rebuild the trust and love they need to face their lives together.

I have a great deal of experience providing couples counseling to people from all backgrounds, ages, faiths, cultures, ethnicities, and sexual orientations.

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what's up with all this love stuff?

I chose the slogan love. safety. trust. because I help people cultivate the following things in their lives:

love.

Love for yourself and others as whole people with strengths and weaknesses.

safety.

The confidence to trust yourself and know that you are capable of creating and being what you need.

trust.

The ability to share yourself with safe, caring people and know that you can handle whatever happens in your life.

Many people who have experienced trauma and neglect tell me that they have learned to pull away from feeling love, safety, and trust as a way of protecting themselves. It's true that in counseling, people often focus on their feelings, and this may seem strange. Many clients tell me that learning to feel love, safety, and trust is something that happens when we work together to achieve larger goals ~ like being more successful, more popular, and making better choices for their future.