Therapy for all of who you are
based in Oakland & serving all of California
with Erin Carnahan, LPCC
QUEER, NEURODIVERGENT, BIRACIAL ONLINE THERAPIST
Boxed in by expectations and labels, you feel stuck — holding back who you are, code-switching, masking.
Platitudes, “praying for you!”, or a pat on your flailing arms while you’re drowning are not going to cut it.
It’s hard to find people who get it — who are accepting and safe enough that you can express your doubts and fears, let alone start to voice delicate dreams and deep desires. Even if you have caring folks in your life, there are inevitably raw times or tender topics that leave you without someone capable of providing care in the ways that you need now – who can be supportive of all of you.
I believe you’re already trying your hardest. Let me help you get unstuck from patterns that harm more than they help. Together we can redirect all that effort from treading water into the movement of real change and getting to solid ground.
You’ve tried pretending everything’s totally fine, countless failproof lifehacks, recommended products and plans, and berating yourself to just stop thinking about it, to try harder, and be better.
You’ve been going it alone for too long now, and it’s wearing you down.
When you’re barely keeping your head above water, the last thing you need is more “help” that leaves you feeling worse, not better.
If you’ve tried to get support before – from friends, pastors, partners, or therapists – and came away feeling frustrated and unheard, ashamed and alienated – that’s all too common for folks like us with multiple marginalized identities.
Hi, I’m Erin.
(she/they)
With me, there isn’t a wrong way to feel, believe, or be .
I won’t shame you for not conforming to the status quo or not somehow squeezing even more out of your exhaustion. My support isn’t contingent on you showing up a certain way or performing “correctly.” And I know you don’t need to be preached at, patronized, or pathologized.
Together, we can reflect on your past with an identity-affirming lens and make sense of confusing and traumatic experiences. With newfound insight, we’ll bring clarity not only to your present-day reactions and relationships, but also to help you distinguish what you – not your parents, partner, church, or culture – actually feel and want, believe and value.
As you gain firmer footing, coming out of crisis mode or auto-pilot, we can look up to take stock of where you’re at and what’s ahead. Designing grounding rhythms and rediscovering what sparks delight and brings you life, we’ll start planting seeds for what’s next.
Let’s get you onto solid ground again.
Instead, consider therapy with me a life preserver. A nonjudgemental space where, together, we can figure out what you need asap to catch your breath, stay afloat in the waves, and sustainably swim in a direction you choose.
More stability and space offers us the opportunity to lean into a more embodied present and to zoom out for a look at the bigger picture.
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK TOGETHER
Based on your specific needs and context, goals and prior experiences seeking support, we’ll partner to create a personalized path forward. The big acronyms (i.e. CBT, DBT, EMDR) and so many types of therapy were developed by and for cis-het, neurotypical, white Americans. I’ve experienced the shortcomings of narrow, formulaic approaches – from both the therapist and the client side of things – that are leaving so many of us to suffer harmful, confusing, or just meh, ineffective therapy.
As a queer, mixed race, Third Culture Kid/adult (TCK), and late-diagnosed Autistic, I know what it’s like to feel “too complicated” with too much context to explain. To be confused and ashamed that you must be doing therapy wrong somehow? Or frustrated and afraid that there’s something extra wrong with you, since it isn’t working and feels really bad actually.
You deserve to be seen as a whole and nuanced person — without feeling like someone’s overwhelmed, shocked, or judging you.
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Making tired assumptions about your background, beliefs, or body
Trying to cram you into a cookie-cutter, manualized, unrealistic treatment program
Examining you like a fascinating case study
Tiptoeing around “taboo” topics
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Approach therapy with humility, curiosity, deep compassion and respect for your lived experience
Selectively use and adapt elements from evidence-based practices to actually be trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, and neuro-affirming.
Take a flexible, integrative approach, grounded in Person-Centered, intersectional feminist, and Narrative therapy.
Prioritize checking in, asking for (and actually being open to) feedback, and continuing to do my own work
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Tailor both a session structure and overall plan that accommodates your needs, whether meeting weekly or embarking on an intensive program
Partner to create a personalized path forward, based on your specific context, goals and prior experiences seeking support,
Lean into your strengths, empowering you to finally feel better and build a life you cherish.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Therapy with me is:
Intersectional
As multifaceted individuals, we pay attention to the dynamics of power and privilege both in and outside of therapy. Together, we can engage with the layered interactions and impacts that come with diverse identities and contexts.
Focused on you
As we build the genuine and trusting relationship that’s foundational to therapy, I bring unconditional acceptance and care, tailoring therapy to follow your capacity, pace and priorities.
Identity Affirming
You’ve had to deal with too much gatekeeping and skepticism already; you won’t need to justify, defend, or explain yourself to me. Whatever your pronouns, presentation, labels, and preferences, you are valid and welcome here.
Collaborative
Instead of preaching, pathologizing, or power-tripping, I invite your feedback and honor your self-knowledge. I see us as partners in co-creating a safer space to pursue your goals together.
Both-And
In therapy, we often sit in the dialectical tension of seemingly opposite feelings and truths. Like holding both compassionate and practical acknowledgement of the current reality and the hope of transformative change.
Liberatory
Together, we can challenge the assumptions and norms of existing oppressive systems and do the radical work of making individual, values-aligned changes and dreaming a more expansive collective future into being.
SPECIALTIES
Depression & Anxiety
LGBTQIA+ Religious Trauma
Burnout & Life Design
Adult Autism & ADHD
Training & Experience
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Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC #9075), California Board of Behavioral Sciences
M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Wheaton College Graduate School
B.A. in Psychology, Whitman College
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National Certified Counselor (NCC) & Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC #730891), National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Transformative Mental Health: Core Curriculum, International Development and Human Arts (IDHA)
Therapists Deconstructing Together, Reclamation Collective
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Member, California Association of Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (CALPCC)
Therapist, Earth Circles Counseling Center, Oakland, CA
Board Member, Introspective Spaces
WHY LIVING OAK COUNSELING ?
With an abiding love and 5+ generations of family roots in Oakland, CA, I recognize that I am still very much a settler on unceded Indigenous land. I’ve named my practice to celebrate the local coastal live oaks (Quercus agrifolia) and honor the steadfast stewardship of the Muwekma Ohlone people. Inspired by their nourishing, interdependent, and enduring relationship, therapy with me is grounded in deep respect and caring cultivation.
Through our work together, you’ll be:
Rooted
in your values
Like the stabilizing, far-reaching roots of oak trees, grounding in your embodied self and your chosen values will let you build deep connections and experience greater resilience in stormy times.
Whole
in who you are
The leaves, bark, and branches are distinct and integral elements of an oak tree; as we explore your different identities, we’ll honor the tensions and celebrate these essential facets of your integrated self.
Growing
a life you love
Inspired by the massive, stately oak tree’s origins from a humble little acorn, we’ll nurture change, envisioning an expansive future while taking small, realistic steps that unfold into large-scale transformation.
Show up as you are — every part of you is welcome here.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With deep gratitude and respect, I acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Muwekma Ohlone (“mah-wek-mah al-lone-ee”) people. Their enduring care for this place – its creeks, oaks, and winged ones – stretches beyond memory and continues today.
I invite all fellow descendants of settlers and beneficiaries of colonization to remember that we are occupying stolen land that was and continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma Ohlone people who continue to steward the land in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area. Please join me in supporting the Muwekma Ohlone by learning more about their rich history, supporting their ongoing fight for federal re-recognition, and making financial contributions here (https://muwekma.org/).