Will you allow yourself to be truly seen, and therefore changed?
Hi, I’m Libra Kaplan (she/her).
I’m an associate Marriage and Family Therapist and HeartMath Certified Practitioner passionate about bringing the magic of CREATIVITY into the therapy space. Through therapeutic art and expression, we transcend the cognitive mind and access the parts of ourselves that lie just beneath our conscious awareness.
I work with women, couples, and groups who are tired of carrying the pain of trauma, shame, and disconnection and need a safe space to unravel the layers. Sometimes it’s about starting all over. At other times, there is deep grief and loss that must be held and witnessed. Whether you are figuring out who you are now, unsure of what you really want, or seeking somatic regulation strategies for more heart-centered presence in your life—wherever you land on this spectrum, know that you are welcome here.
My approach is not linear. I incorporate science-based tools, expressive arts interventions, depth psychology, somatic awareness, and dream wisdom. For psychology nerds, it is an integral approach that combines transpersonal, existential, strengths-based, liberation psychology, multicultural, psycho-spiritual symbolism, and Jungian metaphysics. I teach emotional and somatic regulation tools, heart coherence, and mindfulness skills so that you can begin to experience greater safety and resilience within the first few sessions. I am a HeartMath® Certified Clinical Practitioner.
Codependent patterns + Self-sabotage
Chronically putting others’ needs ahead of your own or engaging in behaviors that undermine your own wellness/joy/success is a particular kind of heartbreak. I am here as your ally, your compassionate witness, and guide. Together, we can creatively connect with the different parts of you that yearn to be heard, held, and loved. Creating new baselines of healthy engagement and self-esteem is possible.
Communication + Relationships
You want deeper belonging and connection, but it no longer feels like you're on the same team. Speaking with kindness and speaking from the heart is not always easy. Vulnerability. Honesty. Values. Compatibility. What do you want? What does your partner want? Let's figure this out together. Judgement + shame-free.
Generational Trauma
We are meant to work on ourselves and evolve from the inside out. When we increase self-awareness, we raise our consciousness, and when we labor in this way, we affect each other. This kind of labor is most valuable; it is not bound by time and space. Having carried and healed my own passed-down heavy intergenerational trauma, I can attest to the worthiness of this work. It is expansive, painful, liberating, transformative, creative, and deeply personal. Let's unwind the story and re-author your narrative with you at the helm.
Mid-Life Shifts for Women
Career change: late bloomers, going back to school, don’t know what you want to be?
Newly single: wondering how to meet someone who deserves you? Or maybe you don’t know how deserving you are?
Empty-nest: kids have gone off to college, and now what?
Whatever you are moving through, I am here for it.
Coping with loved ones with Dementia
My clinical training with elders with dementia taught me the most important thing I may ever learn: the present moment is the place of connection, the place of everything. We don’t have to venture into the past to befriend our inner experience, we just need to talk about what is going on right now, right here. And that is how we can continue to connect, even when that connection is across realities.
I offer in-person sessions in Montclair Village in Oakland and online via Zoom.
Individual sessions are priced at $175 for 50 minutes.
Couples sessions are priced at $225 for 50 minutes.
I accept Aetna EAP, and Carralon insurance. For all others, I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurance company.
I offer sliding scale fees for a limited number of clients, based on eligibility.
Creative psychotherapy that bridges all your layers- mind, body, heart, and soul.
About me
I’m an artist, Jewish, spiritual, cisgendered female, born in the 70s to hippie parents, raised in the Gen X era. A prolific dreamer, an old soul, a spirit having a human experience.
In my previous career as an interior designer for nearly twenty years, I learned to see themes underneath what was being said. Walking alongside my clients (mostly women and couples in mid-life or therabouts) during distress, when their homes were in upheaval and everything was messy and anxiety-provoking. One of the many hats I wore was that of a vision holder and honest and trustworthy guide.
These are skills I carry into my work as a creative therapist.
My training is in expressive arts therapy, which uses a non-pathologizing lens of creativity—drama, movement, visual art, writing, somatic intuition—as an inroads to working with the psyche. It is a holistic way to approach challenges as teachers, to dialogue with them, feel into them, and learn about ourselves. Every problem contains a gift (a lesson) if we are willing to do the work of discovery.
Education
Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology in Expressive Arts Therapy,
California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA.
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
HeartMath® Certified Practitioner
Let’s see if we’re a good fit.
I offer free 15 minute consultations where you can tell me about your therapy goals, ask questions, and I can describe what I offer. These consultations are a perfect opportunity for us to get a sense of each other and see if we have healing chemistry. Please book a consultation using the button below. 👇
Please include a few good times I can reach you.
therapy@librakaplan.com
(510) 239-3848 secure voicemail. Messages are returned within 36 hours.