Specialties

Therapy for Anxiety in San Francisco

Anxiety tends to show up when some part of you is predicting that the future won’t go the way you need it to. That prediction is often based on something real, which is why arguing with it rarely works, and why the way out usually runs through the body rather than around it.

The outcome of something useful

You may notice…

If you often find yourself tensed up, unable to slow down, unable to relax, with thoughts that keep rushing, that is likely the outcome of anxiety.

Anxiety has often worked in the past. It may have kept something from going wrong, or caught a mistake before it happened. It’s a useful feeling for bringing about action. But often, when action isn’t possible, we can still feel the grip of it.

It has been working for you

Why it’s so hard to just stop

Anxiety has worked for you. That’s worth saying plainly.

It has caught mistakes before they happened. It has made you prepare for things other people walked into unprepared. It’s part of how you got good at what you do, and part of why people rely on you. Anxiety is fundamentally a call to action, and when there’s an action available it does its job and then quietens down.

The trouble starts when there’s no action to take. When the thing you’re worried about is months away, or belongs to someone else, or already happened, or isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved by doing something. The call to action still arrives, at full volume, and there’s nowhere for it to go. So it stays in your body, and you end up tense and rushing and unable to settle, with a nervous system braced for something it can’t do anything about.

You can understand all of this completely and still lie awake at three in the morning. Understanding is not the part that’s missing.

Somatic and depth-oriented

How I work with anxiety

My approach is relational, somatic and depth-oriented. I draw on Gestalt, Hakomi and Internal Family Systems, though which of those we end up using depends on what you bring.

What that means practically is that we don’t only talk about your anxiety, we work with it while it’s happening. When something tightens in the room, we slow down and stay with that rather than moving straight to what it means. This tends to matter because anxiety lives in your breathing and your muscles and your gut as much as it lives in your thoughts, and the thinking part is usually the part you’ve already worked on hardest.

We also get curious about what the anxiety is actually predicting, which is often older and more specific than it first appears. Not to explain it away, but because the part of you making that prediction learned to make it somewhere, and it tends to soften when it’s understood rather than argued with.

Dhespina’s therapy office
Dhespina

Hi, I’m Dhespina!

I’m an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, and therapy with me is exploratory and collaborative, with room for reflection, humour, and unexpected moments of insight. I support you in reconnecting with the part of yourself that knows what you need and how you want to heal, even when that part feels difficult to access.

I have trained in Gestalt, Internal Family Systems, and Hakomi Therapy. My approach is relational, somatic, and trauma-informed. This means I do not see therapy as simply a place to talk, but as a space where you can experience new feelings, perspectives, and ways of relating to yourself and others.

More about me How I work

Fees & Sliding Scale

My fee is $200 on a sliding scale down to $120. I also hold 2 low-fee slots at $60 for people facing financial difficulty from unemployment or being a student. If cost is a barrier, please ask.

See full fees & FAQ

Curious whether we might be a good fit?

In the first fifteen minutes, you can tell me a little about what’s bringing you to therapy now, we can get a sense of whether working together feels right, and you can ask any questions you have.

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