Shane David, MA, MFT Intern

About

Simply put, I believe psychotherapy is an invitation to experience oneself differently.


I find that many people arrive to therapy out of some internal feeling of ‘stuckness’, longing for change but unsure about how to make that change. Feeling stuck may be experienced as depression, anxiety, overwhelming feelings, or physical symptoms, among other possibilities. In any case, I appreciate each symptom as a message that the psyche is actively seeking balance. Therapy is a place to uncover the wisdom of these messages and allow for healing and growth to naturally occur.














Alongside the traditional aim of gaining intellectual insight into the origins of suffering, I work closely with the body to support a client’s unique manner of healing and growth, bringing awareness to how the body is already participating in experience, inviting a client into movement or gesture or giving voice to sensation and feeling. I find that attending to both mind and body is not only an act of respect to the wholeness of my clients, but is also a method of facilitating deep, sustainable change. 


The journey of psychotherapy can take many forms, and I am comfortable doing crisis work, short-term work focused on a particular issue and long-term psychotherapy. Regardless of the focus of our work, therapy with me is rooted in the relationship we will co-create between us. I bring to this relationship keen clinical and intellectual knowledge, strong intuitive sense, a playful and rebellious curiosity, a deep well of caring, and finally, my own life experience.


Some common themes I work with in my practice include





resolving family of origin issues


deepening self-acceptance and internal resourcing


experiencing safe and enjoyable contact with others


recognizing and taking in nourishing support


finding a calm and strong center in the face of anxiety


identifying and fulfilling healthy needs


cultivating vulnerability as a strength


exploring sexuality, including the coming-out process


regaining a sense of spontaneity and vitality


having greater access to choice





I work with adult and teenage individuals as well as same-sex and opposite-sex couples in my practice. I particularly enjoy working with men, GLBT and queer communities, young adults, social and environmental activists, and those for whom shyness is a cause for suffering. 
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Before arriving at Holos Institute, I worked with individuals and couples at the Church Street Integral Counseling Center, a Gestalt Therapy community in San Francisco. I hold a Master’s Degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies and have completed the Hakomi Institute of California’s Comprehensive Training in Body-Centered Psychotherapy. In my practice as a psychotherapist, I am continuously fascinated by the relationship between individual change and collective transformation in this time of massive global uncertainty.