Clinical Psychologist in Berkeley

CONNECTION * AFFIRMATION * EMPOWERMENT

Therapy can help you discover the tools within you to write your own story and reach the healing you deserve.

Hi, I’m Dr. Nia (she/her/hers) and I want to congratulate you on taking the first steps towards reaching out for support. Although I am a licensed psychologist, I believe you already have within you the tools that can support your healing journey. I honor the experiences and resiliency that have brought you this far. My goal as a therapist is to create a space where you feel safe and empowered to explore what your own healing may look like. We may practice using new words to describe how you are feeling inside, creating a shared language for your experience and paying close attention. Ultimately, you are in control and I am a guide.

I feel particularly called to work with people of color, women and girls, LGBTQ+ folks, students and young professionals, and those whose identities contribute to difficulties with feeling accepted or valued.

CULTIVATING COMMUNITY AND HEALING

I consider the impact of family, cultural, or societal messages that can interfere with your journey towards wellness and self-love. As a Black woman, I understand the pressure we can feel as we take care of others, sometimes at the cost of our own needs. I am passionate about working with other Black and Brown women who may experience these difficulties as they navigate the everyday demands of work, school, family obligations, and romantic relationships. I support clients to unlearn old strategies that may be self-defeating and learn new ways of coping and being in relationships with themselves and others.

CREATING SAFETY, TRUST, AND SOMATIC HEALING

Drawing on my extensive training in treating trauma, I value creating a space where clients feel emotionally safe. I utilize an authentic and empathic therapeutic style to create a space where clients feel seen, heard, and valued. I model transparency so clients can understand the reasoning behind therapeutic interventions and feel empowered to make informed choices about treatment. When working with trauma, I integrate Psychodynamic, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Somatic interventions. I integrate somatic work because our experiences stay with us, not just mentally and emotionally, but physically. Our bodies hold a lot of wisdom about where healing is needed. I utilize body-based interventions to encourage you to pay attention to not only your thoughts and feelings but bodily sensations.This can help you develop trust in yourself to understand what you might be needing in the present moment.

BLENDING CLINICAL EXPERTISE AND CLIENT-CENTERED VALUES

I draw heavily from Psychodynamic, Relational, and Somatic approaches within a multicultural and trauma-informed framework. I collaborate with clients to uncover hidden conflicts while also acknowledging the external pressures that may keep them feeling ‘stuck.’ I can support you in processing childhood trauma, setting better boundaries, increasing coping skills, developing self-compassion, combatting perfectionism, managing stress, and improving work-life balance. Because I know we are often racing to check things off our to-do list, I will focus on slowing down and paying attention to the physical sensations that arise during sessions to increase awareness of what you might be needing in the present moment.

HELPING CHILDREN THRIVE AT SCHOOL AND AT PLAY

Children are naturally curious and still learning the necessary skills for being successful in an adult world.They can feel worried, sad, and angry, but often do not have the language to express these big emotions. Parents and caregivers are an essential part of child therapy and I will work collaboratively with you to best support your child. I use a play therapy relational approach with both verbal and nonverbal interventions (art, movement, therapeutic games, sandtray). This approach allows children to develop a sense of trust and express their emotions in a safe, contained way. Play therapy within the context of a trusting therapeutic relationship can help identify the unmet need underlying a child’s problematic behavior and support parents and caregivers in responding in healthier ways.

NAVIGATING LIFE’S UPS AND DOWNS WITH TEENS

If you are a parent or caregiver who is at your wit’s end dealing with your teen, please know you are not alone in this struggle. Although parent-teen conflict is common in this age group, there is hope for getting through to your teen and improving your ability to connect with them. I have extensive experience treating teens who are dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma/abuse, or have trouble fitting in with their peers. They may also struggle with low self-esteem and figuring out who they are with respect to their identity. I am particularly interested in working with teens who have suicidal thinking or engage in self-harm and other risky behaviors. I use a combination of talk therapy, play therapy, family systems, and somatic approaches to help teens with managing their symptoms, increasing their ability to cope with stressors, and improve their relationships. In my work with teens, I honor their developing independence while supporting their connections to the people who truly care about them.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, AND ADULTS CREATE BALANCE

It can often feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day. Whether you are in school, working, or both, you are likely dealing with multiple demands while trying to stay on top of everything you need to accomplish. The thought of taking time for yourself makes you feel selfish so you struggle to say “no” to outside obligations. Utilizing a blend of somatic, holistic, and relational approaches, I help clients to develop healthy boundaries while nurturing the relationships that are most important.

HELPING COUPLES AND FAMILIES RECONNECT AND FIND JOY

It’s common for there to be conflict in couples and among family members. Sometimes, these difficulties are impacted by patterns of relating to each other that were developed earlier in life. These patterns can often span generations and be difficult to change. What’s important is that even after a rupture, you can repair the relationship. Using psychodynamic, family systems, and relational approaches, I can support you in repairing those ruptures and improving the quality of your relationships.

I utilize a holistic approach in couples and family work that integrates techniques such as Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Somatic Therapy, and Family Systems interventions. These approaches help you recognize harmful or dysfunctional patterns and rework them while paying attention to the feelings, thoughts, memories, and bodily sensations that arise during interactions with each other. Using this new knowledge, couples and family members can improve their communication, have a renewed sense of attachment, and rediscover joy in each other.

SPECIALTIES AND INTERESTS

• Healing for Black and Brown girls and women
• Treating trauma and attachment difficulties
• Adjustment challenges and dealing with life transitions
• Supporting teens with the transition to adulthood
• Body image and self-esteem concerns
• Coping with depression and anxiety
• Healing from grief and loss
• Foster care youth and adoption
• Acculturation stress
• Supporting children and teens of divorce
• Helping separated and divorced families with co-parenting
• Improving family connection and communication
• Reducing self-harm and risky behaviors in teens
• Identity exploration
• Treating psychosis and mood disorders
• Working with parents of children with ADHD
• Healing from childhood abuse and inter-generational trauma
• Healing from racial trauma and microaggressions
• Increasing self-worth and setting boundaries
• Improving self-understanding and self-compassion
• Managing school and work stress
• Women of color issues in school or the workplace
• Supporting families with communication challenges
• Couples and families navigating trust issues or attachment ruptures
• Interracial couples and cross-cultural relationships

CREDENTIALS

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, PSY31472

Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University.

M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Adelphi University

B.A. in Psychology, minor in Women’s Studies, St. John’s University

TRAINING

• Healing Trauma in Children with Play (2019)
• Working with Latinx Families (2019)
• Dominant and Subjugated Narratives: The Culturally Sensitive Assessment (2019)
• Early Childhood Mental Health: Integrating and Assessing Complex Trauma with young children and their families (2018)
• Project WHAT- Working with children of incarcerated parents (2018)
• CARMA Foundations for Working With Complex Trauma (2018)
• Gender & Culturally Responsive Mental Health Practice with African American Male Youth (2017)
• Engaging foster youth in Treatment (2017)
• Expressive Arts and Drama Therapy (2017)
• Trauma-informed Systems Training (2017)
• Radical Healing (2017)
• Integrative Treatment of Complex Trauma-Adolescents (2017)

LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. NIA

Hear about her views on healing, therapy and more!

https://www.lifebydesigntherapy.com/dr-nia-saunders