Julie Levin, MFT, CHT

Specialties

I often tell my clients, «You are the roommate who will never leave. You might as well become the person you’d most like to live with.»

We all need be treated with kindess, respect and understanding — by that roommate inside of us! My job is to help you tune in to your physical, mental and emotional needs, take them seriously (respectfully) and then express those needs effectively (setting clear, healthy boundaries).

This is not always easy. Many of us were taught to put others first, that we are selfish or weak if we even have needs. It may feel like you’ll get in trouble if your needs conflict with someone else’s. So part of the work is understanding and healing old wounds that left us feeling like our needs were not okay.

Releasing old fear and pain makes space for more freedom, joy, ease and stronger, healthier relationships.

For a complete list of specialties and information about how therapy works, please visit my website.

History

Established in 2004.

Early in my career, I worked with couples who couldn’t get along, kids entering pre-​school with big emotional needs, women with eating disorders, and guys fresh out of rehab trying to stay clean and sober. I got to develop a strong intuitive sense of why people behave in ways that are destructive. And I got to learn where my strengths lie, how I work best, and which clients I am most suited to help.

In 2005 I brought these skills into my own private practice. I continue refining my skills and have been developing a kind of therapy I call Attachment Based Counseling (see my website for more). Today I work with Adult clients in individual sessions. I see 12 – 15 people each week so that I can be as present as possible for my clients while honoring my need for downtime to rest, play. Downtime is not only restorative for me, but it allows my unconscious to work, so that I can bring back valuable insights and ideas to my clients.

Meet the Business Owner

Julie L.

Business Owner

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. After getting a BA in English Lit, I ended up in corporate training, and while I loved connecting with people, I didn’t love the corporate environment. In 1995 I moved from LA to the Bay Area to be with my then fiancé, now husband. I started graduate school in Psychology at JFKU, graduating in 2000. I had amazing and challenging internships, and then got my license in 2004.

I’ve continued training, primarily in adult attachment, learning that our relationship problems, problems with food, alcohol, drugs, and other addictive-​compulsive behaviors almost always come from a lack of security in our earliest attachments. Over the years I’ve taken that training and created a therapy that restores healthy attachment from the inside, using the relationship with the self. I call this Attachment Based Counseling.

Seeing clients develop a deeply loving, protective and supportive self is the best career I never knew I would have.