About My Therapy Practice
I believe healing happens in relationship—with ourselves, with others, and within the safe, attuned space of therapy.
- Natalie Yates, LMFT
I’m a licensed psychotherapist based in San Francisco, CA. I work from a psychodynamic and relational perspective, focusing on both present concerns and the deeper patterns shaping your emotional life, relationships, and sense of self.
Many of the difficulties people bring to therapy—anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, or struggles with self-worth—don’t exist in isolation. They often make more sense when we begin to understand how earlier experiences and relationships continue to live on in the present in both conscious and less conscious ways.
Therapy is a space where these patterns can be slowly noticed, understood, and experienced differently over time, often bringing a greater sense of clarity, flexibility, and relief.
“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
— Kahlil Gibran
The Therapeutic Process
Therapy with me is collaborative, reflective, and paced with care. It is a consistent and unfolding process where we pay attention to what emerges in real time.
This includes your thoughts, emotions, bodily experiences, memories, and relational patterns. It also includes what happens between us in the therapeutic relationship, which can offer meaningful insight into longstanding ways of relating and experiencing yourself with others.
Sessions often involve attending not only to what is happening in your life outside of therapy, but also to what is happening in the room—your reactions, feelings, and anything that feels important or difficult to put into words. Over time, this kind of attention can help bring into focus patterns that may have felt automatic or hard to change.
As these patterns become more understandable, many people experience a growing sense of relief—feeling less caught in familiar loops, less burdened by self-doubt or shame, and more able to move through life with clarity and ease.
This process can gradually support a deeper understanding of yourself, soften patterns that feel rigid or painful, and open space for new ways of being.
Areas of Focus
-
Self-Esteem & Self-Worth
Feeling unsure of yourself or overly self-critical
Difficulty trusting your instincts or feeling grounded in who you are
Wanting to feel more secure, steady, and at home within yourself
-
Early Relationships & Developmental Trauma
The lasting impact of early relationships and formative experiences
Carrying unresolved pain, shame, or unmet emotional needs
Noticing how the past continues to shape your expectations and relationships
-
Anxiety & Emotional Overwhelm
A persistent sense of worry, unease, or inner tension
Feeling emotionally flooded, on edge, or stuck in overthinking
Difficulty slowing down or accessing a sense of calm
-
Relationship Challenges
Repeating patterns in romantic or interpersonal relationships
Struggles with closeness, vulnerability, conflict, or disconnection
Wanting to understand how you relate to others and why it feels hard at times
-
Depression
Feelings of emptiness, heaviness, or disconnection
Low energy, withdrawal, or loss of interest
Feeling stuck, lost, or unsure how to move forward
-
Life Transitions & Identity Shifts
Navigating periods of change such as moves, loss, health, relationship shifts, college or career transitions
Periods that bring up questions about identity, direction, or belonging
Wanting a greater sense of stability and continuity through change
Related areas of clinical focus
Relationships & dating
Attachment challenges
Difficult family dynamics
PTSD & complex trauma
Grief & loss, and separations
Friendship & peer relationships
Bipolar disorder
Body image
Sexual trauma & sexual assault
Domestic abuse & intimate-partner violence
Boundaries & people-pleasing
Perfectionism
LGTBQIA+
Suicidal thoughts & self-harm
Substance use
Therapeutic Approach
-
We explore how unconscious patterns and past relational experiences shape your current emotional life.
-
We attend to how early relationships influence your sense of safety, connection, and belonging.
-
We move at a pace that respects your nervous system, prioritizing safety and choice.
-
We include attention to the body as part of emotional experience, supporting integration and grounding.
Training and Background
Education
Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University
Emphasis in LGBTQ+ Counseling
Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara
Minors in Applied Psychology and Education
Training
I’ve worked in a range of settings, including schools, community mental health clinics, and private practice, which has shaped how I understand people, relationships, and care. I remain engaged in ongoing consultation to support thoughtful and ethical work. I’m deeply committed to this practice, and I continue my own therapy—something I believe is essential to showing up with presence, care, honesty, and authenticity, both as a psychotherapist and as a person.
My training has included working with survivors of sexual trauma, intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, and human trafficking. In that work, I’ve been continually struck by people’s capacity for resilience, and I aim to support a process of healing that feels meaningful, steady, and at your own pace.
License and Certifications
CA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #139404
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional
Professional Affiliations
The Embody Lab
The Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINC)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT & SF-CAMFT)
Next Steps
If this resonates, I invite you to reach out for a complimentary 20-minute consultation. We can connect and get a sense of whether working together feels like a good fit. You’re welcome to ask questions and take your time deciding.
Connect
I offer a complimentary consultation to see if we might be a good fit. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or to schedule a time to connect.
Business Hours: Monday–Thursday, 9am–6pm; Fridays, 10am–3pm