About Nicole
Nicole Ohebshalom, RN, APCC, Sex Therapist
San Francisco Sex Therapy & Couples Therapy
SF IN-PERSON AND VIDEO ONLINE THERAPY
The therapeutic space is created for you. It is designed to provide you with the opportunity to voice your full self to gain more self-understanding to heal towards a more authentic self and meaningful life. I believe we require more accepting and less fixing - less perfectionism and more authenticity - more self-compassion and less criticism. I practice through a holistic lens and a mindful perspective, guiding clients through techniques to cope with the complex challenges life often brings. I hold the belief that as my client, you are the expert of your life, and I am here to help you identify your own personal goals and support you on your journey to achieve them.
It takes courage to come to therapy. Feeling comfortable with your therapist is the most important piece to getting started. I believe that the client-therapist relationship we develop together is a strong contributor to the work you do on this journey as you make progress and meet your goals. My hope is to bring curiosity, stability, warmth and playfulness to this collaborative process, and I trust that the nature of the soul is to move towards wholeness.
Interested in working together, consulting with me, or have further inquires about my practice or approach? I offer a complimentary 15 minute phone consultation to discuss what you are looking for in therapy and the support my practice provides. Schedule with me here.
Having a thriving partnership is a key element to living a happy, healthy, and long life. Going to couples therapy doesn't mean your relationship is broken, it means that you're willing to give it the TLC it needs to make it through the long haul. I provide guidance and support so that you can learn together how to enrich your relationship through intentional change. I offer a nonjudgmental space for you to gain perspective and skills that help guide your relationship closer towards where you want to be, repairing old wounds and rebuilding trust and intimacy. The greatest gift to give or be given is to be known and loved for both our strengths and weaknesses
I am trained in Gottman Couples Therapy as well as Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. I am also trained as a Sex Therapist and am en route to becoming a certified Sex Therapist from AASECT.
-Nicole, SF Intimacy & Sex Therapy
Therapy is an intimate, personal journey towards self-understanding and self-acceptance in the company of an empathetic and non-judgmental guide. My therapeutic work weaves together Western psychological theory with Eastern traditions of spirituality to assist you in developing self compassion, mindfulness, emotional intelligence and body awareness. I partner with you to pattern new, healthier ways of moving through the world and being in relationship with self and others. Each of us have a healthy core. As a clinical counselor associate, my job is to companion you in connecting with that core. Each person is unique and simultaneously operating on many levels. From my experience, a multi-modal approach is most helpful in removing blocks to a fulfilling and joyous life. Therefore, I integrate many modalities from tribal eastern practices to modern psychotherapeutic modalities of healing that I have been privileged to learn to help each person achieve their potential.
We Speak Relationship
San Francisco Intimacy Support, Couples Counseling and Sex Therapy for Women and Partners
Presently I am a clinical counselor associate at SFIAP’s Bay Area Community Counseling in San Francisco in addition to San Francisco Intimacy & Sex Therapy Centers. I am a Ph.D. candidate in Human Sexuality at California Institute of Integral Studies, which trains in Sex Therapy and critical sexuality scholarly research.
My Specialties:
Trauma
Sexual Trauma
Couples & Relationship Therapy
Sex Therapy
PTSD
Attachment & Intimacy
Identity Development
Trauma - acute and chronic
Anxiety, Depression & Stress Management
ADHD/ADD
Acculturation & Immigration
Sexual Health & Intimacy
Maternal Mental Health
Women’s Health: Infertility, Endometriosis and PCOS
Maternal Mental Health
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Attachment-Based Cognitive Behavioral Systemic Therapy
EMDR, Trauma Therapy
Emotional Focus Therapy
Hakomi/Somatic Practice.
Gottman Couples Therapy (level 1&2)
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy
Structural-Strategic Family Therapy
We Work Collaboratively.
I hold the belief that as my client, you are the expert of your life, while I am here to help you identify your goals that will help you in living a meaningful life that reflects your personal values
Individual Psychotherapy
in San Francisco:
By starting therapy you're courageously taking responsibility for yourself and acting on hope for a better life. I help you to become more of who you are at your core. My job is to be an independent champion for you. To help you sift through your thoughts, your emotions, and your actions to get to what isn't working for you which allows you to make the necessary changes. We all have one life and the biggest gift we can give ourselves is to live it the best we possibly can. I'm honored to walk and guide you through this process of becoming the stronger and happier version of yourself.
Working from an integrative framework and mindful perspective, I take mind, body, and spirit into account as we approach your difficulties together. Life is long and we all struggle sometimes with the hard parts of being human...confusion, conflicts phobias, changes, anxieties, sadness, grief. My clients are invited to bring whatever struggles they have to therapy and to say whatever they've never been able to say that's been a burden for them. If you feel it or think it, we can work with it. I hold the belief that as my client, you are the expert of your life, while I am here to help you identify your goals that will help you in living a meaningful life that reflects your personal values.
SPECIALITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
Trauma/Abuse (acute and chronic/developmental)
ADHD/ADD
Anxiety, Depression & Stress Management
Acculturation & Immigration
Sexual Health & Intimacy
Maternal Mental Health Certified (perinatal and postnatal)
Women’s Health: Infertility, Endometriosis and PCOS
Trauma Therapy:
My specialties are trauma, acculturation and women’s health, which includes maternal mental health, sexuality and reproductive care. I was trained as a Clinical Counselor at New York University. Additionally, I gained a certification in Interdisciplinary Studies in Trauma and Violence program at NYU. Originally I was trained at Trauma Study Center at Institute of Contemporary Psychology in NYC, where I was trained in trauma and focused my work in women’s trauma, complex and developmental PTSD, acculturation, identity development and family systems.
Couples & Sex Therapy:
I am certified in maternal mental health and training as a sex therapist (doctorate in Human Sexuality). I am trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Cognitive Behavioral Systemic Therapy, EMDR, Emotional Focus Therapy and Hakomi/Somatic Practice. For couples therapy, I completed training in Gottman Couples Therapy (level 1&2) and proficient in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and Structural-Strategic Family Therapy.
I am certified as a functional nutritionist for women, and study kundalini yoga. In addition, I have been a student of meditation for over 20 years.
As a researcher, I was trained under Carol Gilligan, Ph.D. and then continued my research as a Visiting Scholar at Tel Aviv University. Currently, I am completing my grant-funded project that studies, “Eastern-Western Women’s Sexual-Self Concept” using the Listening Guide Methodology. The study focused in Israeli-Iranian women’s self-concept as she develops and navigates between two hyphen identities, including negotiating her voice, silence, shame and resilience with herself, her body and her relationships. Additionally, I was a research clinician for two studies at Veterans Affairs at Palo Alto, CA. The studies used Motivational Interviewing (therapeutic modality) to assist Veterans and Concerned Others with alcoholism.
San Francisco's Leading Couples Counselors & Sex Therapists
My Path to Becoming a Therapist…
Prior to becoming a therapist, I was a Registered Nurse at an Infertility and Endocrinology center. Later, I had a space in New York City, Tel Aviv and San Francisco for women called Radiant Living Wellness that provided healing modalities, such as nutrition, self-inquiry and yoga/meditation to heal reproductive issues, fertility and anxiety. During this time, I became certified in functional nutrition for women’s health, kundalini yoga and an intense apprenticeship in Ayurveda for medical professionals. I also worked for Regena Thomashauer (author of Pussy: A Reclamation and more books/programs) and Hari Kaur Khalsa (author of Women’s Book of Yoga/Meditation and women’s courses). Spending years with these women, my work with clients have been influenced by their teachings.
These experiences have given me a wider lens to understand the women’s unique reproductive, spiritual and psychological experience and to connect with my clients. Through holistic and integrative practices, I help clients create more compassion for themselves, more capacity to feel the hard stuff, and more understanding of how to manage the stressors and impacts of our history, our environment, and our daily life. I serve not as an expert or someone with all the answers, but as a collaborative guide who values and deeply respects who my clients are and the wisdom they already have within.
-Nicole Ohebshalom, San Francisco Couples & Sex Therapist