Nina Bratcher

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW 27045) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) in California. I specialize in supporting adults of all ages around navigating the emotions that inevitably come with life changes. I believe goodness of fit between client and therapist is extremely important for healing to take place. I am no stranger to the suffering that comes with being alive. I have also felt the incredible joy that is available to us in this life and am passionate about helping people reconnect with or discover that. I would be honored to sit with you and serve as a guide as we explore your journey together. When working with clients, I approach the therapeutic relationship with compassion and curiosity. I believe it is important to create an emotionally safe environment where insights can develop and growth can take place. I work from a client-centered, strengths-based perspective. This means we will begin where you are emotionally and will draw on personal strengths to facilitate balance and healing. I aim to foster a supportive, accepting, and honest relationship to help facilitate personal growth and desired behavioral change.

My therapeutic style is integrative, trauma informed, appropriately humorous and pulls from different therapy models depending on individual needs and desired outcomes. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients examine and adjust unhelpful patterns in thinking and behavior. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) are used to guide clients in cultivating present moment awareness, regulating emotions, connecting with personal values and improving the quality of relationships. I also incorporate nervous system education and compassionate inquiry to help foster a nurturing relationship with yourself. I believe understanding the relationship between mind and body is essential in the process of healing. Together we will explore your experience from a nervous system perspective to help build awareness of emotional needs and learn how to self-regulate.

Our first session will be a bit like a structured interview. I will ask lots of questions about you, your lived experience, your relationships and what causes both challenge and joy in your life. We will explore what has inspired you to seek therapy and what you hope to achieve in the process. Once I have gathered the necessary information, I will share some initial impressions about what might be a helpful starting place in therapy.