A safe space to get the support you need.
Trusting others and being vulnerable can be scary, especially when you've had some negative experiences in the past. It's not easy to set boundaries and voice your needs when experience tells you that having boundaries and needs might make people hurt or abandon you. Having a trusted therapist by your side can provide a safe and consistent space for healing relational and complex trauma. You can learn how to create better boundaries with your family and friends, overcome fears about dating and intimacy to build healthy romantic relationships, and begin feeling safe in your own skin.
Your past doesn’t have to define your future.
I'm Smadar Salzman. I can help you break free from the past and empower you to live the life you want.
|
I help individual adult survivors of childhood emotional neglect, abuse, & relational trauma break free from their past and finally heal.
I provide a safe, empowering space to explore and unravel the full impact of your past on your life, your relationships, and your sense of self. Many therapists who treat trauma aren't truly Complex-Trauma informed. Many use modalities with specific therapist-led treatment protocols. My clients have told me this doesn't feel helpful to them. They feel stuck repeating the same things week after week and not making progress. Most importantly, they don't feel empowered. Therapy with me is different. My clients say it feels grounding, validating, and most of all, safe. I know that a big part of relational trauma is disempowerment. I'm here to connect with you human-to-human in a way that empowers you. I'll help you access your own inner strength and wisdom while showing you skills to feel more secure in your life and relationships. I have a small by design, highly specialized practice in order to provide the highest level of care for each of my clients. I offer Telehealth in California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, and Vermont. |
I can help you heal after relational trauma, betrayal, abuse, and emotional neglect.
My style is calm, deeply caring, authentic, and respectful of each person's unique goals, struggles, and strengths. I'm deep, but also light. You might be surprised at how quickly tears can transform into laughter; pain into compassion.
I'm supportive and validating but not afraid to challenge and shine light on hidden parts of you that need healing or strengthening. Together we can find and heal parts of you that were there to help you survive, but now get in the way of feeling safe and secure within yourself and in your adult relationships.
My role is to hold a mirror while also holding your hand, providing safety and comfort along with reflection and guidance toward healing, growth, change, and transformation.
I'm supportive and validating but not afraid to challenge and shine light on hidden parts of you that need healing or strengthening. Together we can find and heal parts of you that were there to help you survive, but now get in the way of feeling safe and secure within yourself and in your adult relationships.
My role is to hold a mirror while also holding your hand, providing safety and comfort along with reflection and guidance toward healing, growth, change, and transformation.
On a personal note.
|
The type of support you need is unique to you, and finding a person that you feel comfortable with is so important. Below are a few things that may be helpful for you to know about me. These experiences have shaped the way I navigate the world, and continue to guide my therapeutic approach.
I've spent much of my life navigating diverse spaces that left me feeling connected to multiple countries, languages, values and belief systems- while also feeling like an outsider and observer everywhere. I spent my early years in Northern California and some very formative years in Southern Mexico. As a young adult, I travelled extensively throughout Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. My ancestors were refugees from ethno-religious persecution, so I have family spread across the world. I’m first generation American and first generation college educated. My family’s history, in combination with my own personal experience of growing up in multicultural and multilingual households, and my global wanderings as a young adult all had a huge impact on my identity, my interests, and my career. I grew up fascinated by the way we construct the narrative of our identity and curious about the impact of our formative environment on our worldview, relationships, and beliefs. I knew early on that I wanted to be a private practice psychotherapist and work specifically with people navigating intergenerational trauma, complex family dysfunction, and the effects of traumatic formative experiences on adult relationships with self and others. |
My clients' growth and transformation is my biggest joy.
"Smadar made me feel safe, seen, and heard. She helped me to forgive myself not only for what had been done to me, but for how I’d behaved as a result. She provided the utmost compassion on my therapeutic journey." |
"Smadar has such a deep understanding and way of working with complex and formative trauma. We’re not always directly talking about healing from trauma in sessions, but somehow we are always working on the trauma." |
"Working with you has been life-changing. It's truly been a gift and I'm so grateful. Thank you for helping me figure out how to take care of myself. You are the best." |
"You are the most amazing healer I've ever had access to. I am so grateful for the support you've given me. For how you've helped me see and change my life and my relationships. I'm forever grateful to have found you." |
Experience & Training
I'm a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I received my Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from University of San Francisco. During my graduate traineeship I was one of two interns to receive a grant from the California Endowment's Culturally Sensitive Intern Program; I concurrently completed three years of clinical training at Family Service Agency in Santa Rosa, providing culturally-appropriate counseling and psychotherapy to Latinx immigrant clients in Spanish.
I'm also trained and certified as a Clinical Complex Trauma Professional and Domestic Violence Counselor with several years experience facilitating court-mandated groups for women who had been arrested for perpetrating domestic violence against their romantic partners. What I learned from these women was the connection between their own unresolved early traumas, particularly sexual abuse, and their difficulty regulating their emotions in their adult romantic relationships. I continue to implement the wisdom they shared with me into the work I do today.
In addition to providing psychotherapy, I worked for several years as a Clinical Supervisor at Fred Finch Youth Center in Oakland on issues relating to childhood and developmental trauma within the foster care system. I've offered trainings and workshops on vicarious traumatization, therapist safety in community mental health settings, and cross-cultural competence, and have researched and written on the topic of women and anger.
I'm also trained and certified as a Clinical Complex Trauma Professional and Domestic Violence Counselor with several years experience facilitating court-mandated groups for women who had been arrested for perpetrating domestic violence against their romantic partners. What I learned from these women was the connection between their own unresolved early traumas, particularly sexual abuse, and their difficulty regulating their emotions in their adult romantic relationships. I continue to implement the wisdom they shared with me into the work I do today.
In addition to providing psychotherapy, I worked for several years as a Clinical Supervisor at Fred Finch Youth Center in Oakland on issues relating to childhood and developmental trauma within the foster care system. I've offered trainings and workshops on vicarious traumatization, therapist safety in community mental health settings, and cross-cultural competence, and have researched and written on the topic of women and anger.
Education, Licensure, & Certifications (Selected) |
University of San Francisco, Masters in Counseling Psychology
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, California Lic. #47213 Florida Telehealth License: TPMF1286 Michigan MFT License: 4101007463 Nevada MFT License: 4829-R Vermont Telehealth License: 100.0134319TELE
|
Professional Associations |
|
