Michael Wallin MFT

Specialties

Having difficulty coping? Supportive, empathic insight-​oriented therapy can help sort things out and effect change. Experienced, accepting, interactive therapist offers sliding scale rates for individuals and couples. Insurance accepted. Specialties: overcoming anxiety/​panic, the coming out process, dealing with HIV/​AIDS, help with self-​defeating behavior patterns, relationship issues and sexuality (compulsive sex, dysfunctions/​inhibitions). I believe successful therapy combines gaining insight into the origins of old patterns of thought and behavior that aren’t working for you and attempting to make changes in those patterns, so that what has not worked can begin to work again.

The changes involve 3 essential components: 1/​insight and understanding; 2/​accessing and being able to feel often difficult, even painful, feelings associated with those insights; 3/​starting to take risks in changing behavior patterns that are self-​defeating.

History

Established in 1997.

My business as a therapist in private practice has grown over the 15 years since I started it. I started half time, working as well at a San Francisco city funded LGBT low fee mental health & substance abuse clinic called New Leaf. I decided to go full time about 10 years ago & am not looking back. My practice is thriving. I see clients who use their insurance as well as private pay clients. The people I see are incredibly varied, of all ethnicities/​races & ranging in age from their 20’s through their 60’s. I see about 80% individuals & 20% couples. My clients are gay men, lesbians, straight men & women who present with a variety of issues: depression, anxiety, relationship problems, family struggles, problems on the job, self esteem & many others. The issues are human issues at heart & not generally a consequence of their gender, sexual orientation or age. I find the work I do very gratifying as I watch my clients become happier with themselves & their lives.

Meet the Business Owner

Michael W.

Business Owner

I was born & raised in the SF Bay Area. My father was a professor at Stanford in sociology & had an enormous library of books on psychology that I devoured as a teenager. I went to Yale University for two years & finished at UC Berkeley, getting my B.A. in Psychology. I received my M.A. in Psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies, which is located here in San Francisco, in 1993. After several internships, I was licensed as an MFT (Marriage & Family Therapist) in 1997. My private practice has been thriving ever since, going from half time to full time about 10 years ago.