About 

Ali Kimmell is a psychotherapist (Licensed Clinical Social Worker 67173) practicing in Oakland, CA. She works from a relational psychodynamic perspective and works to create an environment of radical inclusivity for clients of all genders, sexual orientations, races, cultures, faiths, sizes, and lifestyles and is a kink and poly aware therapist. 

She received her B.A. at Wesleyan University and her masters' degree in Social Work at Smith College for Social Work. She completed an advanced training program in psychodynamic psychotherapy at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley and is studying modern analytic group psychotherapy at the Center for Group Studies in New York City. 

She has particular expertise in helping clients work with:

• relationship patterns
• connecting to a sense of passion and purpose in life
• anxiety and depression
• identity issues and healing from the psychological impacts of systems of oppression. 
• perfectionism and self doubt
• grief
• managing conflict and anger
• trauma

Ali uses both a social justice lens and a relational psychodynamic grounding in my work. Which means believing that lasting change comes from exploring and ultimately freeing oneself from the underlying causes of current symptoms. Ali help's clients discover the patterns that are holding them back, and experiment with new ways of being.  In this process, she attends to external and internalized dynamics of oppression to help clients find places of resistance, resilience and healing. ​


Professional Affiliations:

The Psychotherapy Institute
Center for Group Studies
American Group Psychotherapy Association
Northern California Group Psychotherapy Association
Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Bay Area Open Minds
Gaylesta

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