Berkeley MFT - Therapist Services, Louise Monsour

berkeley mft

I worked for many years in the corporate world. When I started the journey toward becoming a therapist as an older adult, I knew that all the other work I had done, and all the relationships I had so far experienced were just training for the work I was preparing to do.

I have been practicing 14 years and I am still excited about the work that I do every day. In my work teaching graduate students who are becoming therapists themselves, I sometimes suggest that it is useful to think of our profession as one of recycling. Aren’t we the ultimate recyclers? We help others take all of who they are, including their pain and their wounds, and work with them to reshape it and learn to hold it differently so that it might be of some value.

Besides maintaining a private practice, and doing consulting work for small non-profits, I teach in the Holistic Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University, training graduate students in the art of diagnosis and assessment, with particular emphasis on working with clients from multicultural and holistic perspectives.

My primary training was in psychodynamic theory and object relations. Since entering the field 14 years ago, I have added training from many different theoretical orientations and emphases through Continuing Education Courses taken every year. In addition to specialized training in EMDR , I am also trained in gestalt therapy, attachment theory, trauma recovery, and PTSD. I am a student of, and have completed, a certificate program in Buddhist Psychology and find my work is enriched by including the wisdom from many teachings in my work with clients.


American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists P.O. Box 6907 Santa Barbara, CA 93160-6907 800.662.2638 www.aamft.org or www.therapistlocater.net	California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists 7901Raytheon Road San Diego, CA 92111-1606 888.892.2638 www.camft.org

Blue Oak Therapy Center Board of Directors 3101 Telegraph Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 510. 649-9818 www.blueoaktherapycenter.org	Gaylesta The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Psychotherapists Association of the Greater Bay Area Currently a member of the referral service, and past member of the Board of Directors 888.869.4993 www.gaylesta.org

John F. Kennedy University (JFKU) Adjunct Faculty in School of Holistic Studies 1 West Campbell Avenue, Bldg. A Campbell, CA 95008 408.874.7760 www.jfku.edu