Pamela Singer, PsyD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Call Now For a Free Phone Consultation: 650-933-3016
Note: Group therapy is currently on hold due to Covid-19. I hope to resume in 2021. A list of future groups follows:
Eating Disorder and Body Image Skills and Support Group
I offer an 8 week group therapy program combining skills and support for those in recovery from an eating disorder or struggling with body image. This group is open to individuals with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, unspecified eating disorders/disordered eating, and body image disruption. This group is closed (i.e., there are no newcomers once the sessions have started), and I wait until the roster is full for it to begin. A typical 8 week group will have 6-8 participants. If you are interested in the group and it is not currently available, I am happy to keep you on the waiting list and let you know the next time it is beginning. Participation in this group requires a telephone screening.
This group is 75 minutes in length each week and combines mindfulness exercises with skills designed to help manage the negative emotions and beliefs we encounter on the road from self-rejection to self-tolerance, and ultimately to self-acceptance. Skills will include dialectical behavior therapy tools around distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness, as well as methods for restructuring thoughts and building self-compassion. The group offers time to discuss how members are struggling each week, but the focus will be on how to apply tools to these struggles and work toward finding your power in a supportive environment (this is different from a process group, which focuses more on exploring the emotions in depth). Group runs when we have approximately 4-6 participants. Email or call to get more information and be placed on the list of participants.
DBT & Yoga Group For Eating, Trauma, & Anxiety Disorders
I offer a 16 week group therapy program for individuals with eating disorders and/or anxiety disorders. This group is closed (i.e., there are no newcomers once the sessions have started), and I wait until the roster is full for it to begin. A typical 10 week group will have 4-8 participants. If you are interested in the group and it is not currently available, I am happy to keep you on the waiting list and let you know the next time it is beginning. Participation in this group requires a telephone screening and may require physician clearance. If I have any concern about your health or ability to participate in the group, I may ask you to come for an intake session for a thorough evaluation, after which we will decide whether the group can be helpful.
This group is 90 minutes in length each week and combines yoga techniques with Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to best address the mind-body disconnect common in eating and anxiety disorders. Group begins with education about the various systems of the body that hold stress, trauma, and self-defeating thoughts and a brief yoga session to reduce holding in these areas. Group members will then learn DBT skills to help maintain productive management of this area. For example, a group may focus on providing education about how the iliopsoas muscle is impacted by trauma and tension, move members through poses to relax these muscles, and then teach distress tolerance skills to help manage the intense emotions that often arise from eating disorders and/or anxiety to replace the harmful behaviors that are often being used to keep them at bay. Each week a new system will be addressed, starting with yoga to best allow the new skills to be received since the mind is most receptive when the body feels safe. The group works in this way to heal the disconnect between mind and body, while building self-acceptance and self-compassion. We will also work with specific poses to challenge negative beliefs about yourself and your body, increase the flow of positive emotions, and improve your ability to self-soothe and self-regulate. Group runs when we have approximately 4-6 participants. Email or call to get more information and be placed on the list of participants.
Trauma Skills Group
I offer a 10 week group therapy program for individuals suffering from the impact of trauma. This group is closed (i.e., there are no newcomers once the sessions have started), and I wait until the roster is full for it to begin. A typical 10 week group will have 4-6 participants. If you are interested in the group and it is not currently available, I am happy to keep you on the waiting list and let you know the next time it is beginning. Participation in this group requires a telephone screening.
Trauma can take many forms including physical, sexual, emotional, and mental abuse. It may have happened long ago or recently, in an ongoing way or in a single incident, but no matter what the impact is powerful. Trauma can result in feeling disconnected from your mind and body, feeling on edge and jumpy, avoiding people and places, having challenges trusting yourself and others, feeling emotionally dysregulated with episodes of anger or numbness, disrupted sleep, thoughts that tear down your sense of self, and intrusive images that come into your mind unbidden reminding you of your experience. For those suffering from any or all of these challenges, this group centers on giving you the skills to manage your symptoms and put yourself--rather than the symptoms--in the driver's seat. Skills include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skills. As trauma-related disorders are, at their heart, disorders of not being present and getting trapped by the past, this group is focused on empowering you to stay in the present and move into the future. Email or call to get more information and be placed on the list of participants.
Group Therapy
*Groups are currently on hold, but accepting members to wait list. Contact for more information.