Shawna Brevik, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Oakland CA
My understanding and relationship with the process of psychotherapy is to make the unconscious—conscious (Cortright, 2015). Spirituality does this through love, while psychotherapy goes into how the heart is closed and works with the defenses.
My work and training serving juveniles moving through the justice system, individuals and couples in a community mental health setting, and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking have given me great insight on how the process of human existence occurs almost indefinitely within patterns throughout our lives both literally and figuratively. Further, since such a small portion of our brain rests in a conscious state, much of our existence is operating on subconscious and unconscious levels. Through psychotherapy we can unlock ways of being in these patterns that may have internalized in forms that we are not able to be aware of without the facilitation of someone who understands this.
This is where one of the most crucial, if not thee most crucial element of psychotherapy comes in—the relationship—the someone who understands this part. It is the relationship with someone who is willing to “go there” with you who will have an opportunity to help one change the way they “relate” to their experience, their way of being. "It is the relationship that heals" Dr, David Yalom.
Hailing from the Midwest I made my way out to the West Coast after being accepted into the California Institute of Integral Studies Integral Counseling Psychology Masters degree program in 2013. I completed my undergraduate degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
Prior to beginning my Masters in the Bay Area I worked as a Juvenile Advocacy Counselor for the State of Minnesota. My work as a Juvenile Advocacy Counselor opened my eyes to multitudes of awareness about humans and relationships, mainly surrounding issues of how familial dynamics can impact so much of our lifespan development and the complexities within the layers of our inter and intra personal relationships. My work in practicum and into my associateship was at Liberation Institute in San Francsico. A community mental health grassroots non-profit organization that provides individual, couple, and family psychotherapy along with groups and events at the Urban Retreat Center. While completing my hours for license, I worked with both victims, prepatrators, and their families being impacted by the criminal justice system. I also had the privilege of working under 2 private practice supervisors as well as with families and children in foster care at the YWCA Contra Costa.
I've had the great privilege of volunteering with the Multidisciplanry Association of Pscyhedelic Studies harm reduction branch Zendo Project which provides psychedelic assisted support for individuals at nightlife, festival, and large events such as Burning Man.
Most recently I have completed a Ketamine Assisted Therapy (KAT) Training through Alchemy Commnity Therapy out of Oakland, CA.