About Me

As a Gestalt therapist and a practicing Buddhist, I am very interested in the here and now. How are you stopping yourself from manifesting a fully functional and fulfilling life? When we restrict our awareness, we limit our possibilities for growth and a meaningful existence. 

Stress, depression, anxiety and trauma exist both in the body and in the mind. Talk therapy engages the mind looking for insights through telling your story. While this is important it is not the whole picture. We live in our bodies and experience the world through our five senses. Therapy that does not engage the information that the body offers is neglecting important wisdom. Your body is where your emotions live. It is a reliable resource and guide. I utilize numerous somatic tools to help you to connect to the healing capacity that resides in your body.

I enjoy working with the taboo, the forbidden. Many of my clients live alternative lives. You are who you are. The work, as I see it, is to accept who you are and get on with enjoying yourself and your life.

For many years, I worked in the field of family law, counseling hundreds of clients through divorce, custody battles and domestic violence. These experiences, and many others, led me to become a therapist.

I work with individuals and people in relationships of various types (couples, triads, etc.). My specialties include:

  • LGBTQQIA
  • Sex and sexuality
  • Polyamory and non-monogamy
  • Kink/BDSM
  • ​Grief
  • Trauma
  • Anxiety
  • Aging
  • Intimate partner violence

Education

  • M.A. in Integral Counseling Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California
  • J.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
  • B.A. in Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan


Memberships and Affiliations

  • Former Board Member – Bay Area Gestalt Institute
  • Former Board Member – Bay Area Open Minds: Psychotherapists Affirming Sexual & Gender Diversity
  • California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy, Southwest Chapter

Kristine M. Herzog, MFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #125132
415.713.5371