My name is Christel Berry, I was born and raised in Ivory Coast. Throughout my career as a Therapist I have gathered 9 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, adults, teens, and families who are exposed to environmental stressors, trauma, acculturation, racism and a variety of challenging situations/family dynamics. I am also a trained art therapist and utilizes a client-centered approach to customize treatment to the needs of my clients.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first sessions, I like to work on building rapport and identifying your main concerns. I like to go at your pace, and I am open to feedback throughout the sessions. I believe rapport is extremely important in therapy, building trust is essential. I will ask you questions about your interests, your strengths, your sources of support.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I have 9 years of experience in the field, I have worked with a large variety of populations, from children, teens, adults and youth in foster care. I worked with adults struggling with substance use, housing and severe mental illnesses. I think that my ability to be non judgemental, bring humor into my sessions and my experiences with being an african immigrant has allowed to develop a very unique understanding of humanity and its challenges. I believe people have the ability to change, improve once they have a better understanding of themselves.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I really enjoy working with young professionals, who are trying to figure out how to cope with the stress of life, work, family, relationships and friendships. My Clients are enthusiastic about discovering more about themselves and enjoy collaborative style throughout the sessions. They are open to art therapy exercises and tools that they can continue to utilize long after treatment ends.
About Christel Berry
Christel Berry offers therapy covered by CalViva Health (Medi-Cal), Central California Alliance for Health (Medi-Cal), Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley (Medi-Cal), Gold Coast Health Plan (Medi-Cal), Health Net (Medi-Cal), Health Plan of San Joaquin - Medi-Cal, L.A. Care Health Plan (Medi-Cal), Orange County Mental Health Plan (Medi-Cal), Partnership HealthPlan of California (Medi-Cal) and San Francisco Health Plan (Medi-Cal) in California.
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic as a way to identify and help you process the connection between your emotions, behaviors and past trauma. My goal is to help you increase your self awareness and insight through exploration of significant events in your life.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Throughout my career I have utilized CBT as an evidenced based practice to treat anxiety, depression and help replace behaviors/patterns that tend to cause more suffering and stress to your life. By becoming aware of the connection between your thoughts, actions and feelings you are able to feel more in control of your life and make informed choices.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I mostly rely on DBT skills to help increase distress tolerance, interpersonal relationships, practice mindfulness and improve emotional regulation.
Narrative
I believe Narrative therapy can be a powerful tool to rewrite your story, externalize the problem, look at the problem from a different perspective. It allows to explore the messaging and narratives that have impacted your life.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
As an immigrant west African woman, it is important to me to provide culturally sensitive therapy, and help my Clients cope with the challenges that come with racism, microaggressions, intersectionality, environmental racism and all forms of discrimination that often result in increase distress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and more.