I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive training in Attachment Focused EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and Relational Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. It is important to me to work collaboratively with each client to meet them where they are, and find the right approach and the best treatment for each individual person. 

I am a current member of the Parnell Institute where I received my training in Attachment Focused EMDR. I find EMDR to be very helpful in uncovering and healing trauma, which I define as "capital T" trauma and "small T" trauma. The former causes one to question themselves and the order of the world. The latter stops one from living to their fullest potential in relationships and daily life. Either type of trauma can often be traced back to smaller moments in childhood and adolescence that had a large impact. EMDR helps unblock and reprocess traumas so we can respond skillfully as our adults selves, instead of reacting as if the trauma were re-occuring.

I graduated from The Wright Institute where I studied psychodynamic psychotherapy and family therapy. Post graduate, I completed a two year intensive training program in Relational Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley. I completed in-depth training in CBT as a therapist in both an outpatient recovery clinic for women and their children coping with addiction and trauma, and at UC Berkeley, researching and treating sleep disorders and depression using CBT. I have experience running CBT and DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) groups as well as using these treatments in individual therapy.
​ 
Prior to working in the field of psychotherapy, I spent several years working as a birth doula and an assistant midwife at a birth center.

My practice is located at Preservation Park 660 13th Street Oakland, CA 94612 in Downtown Oakland. It is easily accessible by freeway with plenty of street parking and a parking garage directly across the street. It is just 4 blocks from the 12th Street BART station.  Please contact me for more information or to schedule an initial meeting: 510-214-2227
Deidre Abrons, MA, LMFT #83214