Brian Henderson, AMFT
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
San Francisco CA
Trauma takes many forms — it can be an accident, a loss, a violent act, a long pattern of mistreatment, a life lived within an oppressive system, or all of the above. It can be what happened to us and it can be something we don't know we didn't get, but deserved. No matter the origin, trauma has the effect of disconnecting us from parts of ourselves and from each other. Very often, what we lose contact with first is our bodies and the immediacy of our emotions. A vital part of the process of integrating trauma is finding a way home to the body — only then can we start reconnecting with others and building a more vibrant life.
We'll work with a variety of tools — Hakomi, breathwork, body-centered mindfulness, and Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, among others — that help us slowly expand our capacity to listen to what the body already knows.
We heal in the presence of other humans. I’m a human too, it turns out, and my humanity will be in the room with us.
I am a therapist. I am also a partner, a friend, a writer, a swimmer, and a lover of queer dancefloors and music. I am a gardener, a UC-trained California Naturalist, and a passionate ecologist. To inform our work, I will call on my experience as a gay man who has grappled with unlocking his own life force and on my decade-long relationship with chronic pain.
I believe that the body and what we feel in the present moment carry some of the most important information for our work. I also know that the history and health of the land we live on has so much to teach us about how to heal. I am a white cis man living on unceded Ohlone land. Part of my own journey toward wholeness involves consciousness of the ways that I embody forces that routinely rob people of their lives, loved ones, and land. We don't heal in isolation; we heal as a societal body. If our healing comes at the expense of folx on the margins, it is not true healing.
I look forward to meeting you and starting down a shared road.
I offer Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy and weekly ongoing psychedelic integration coaching, in addition to traditional psychotherapy. I work with couples and individuals, and specialize in working with the LGBTQ+ community and with folx suffering from chronic pain and illness. Visit my website for information on pricing, location, and contact info.