about
Nicole Kangas, PhD, JD, LMFT
I am a Social Psychologist and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (License #102954) with a private practice in San Francisco’s East Bay. I moved to the Bay Area from the East Coast more than 20 years ago and I love living and working in a naturally beautiful area, where mental and physical health are valued and prioritized.
My counseling practice is devoted to helping women overcome their challenges, and make changes, in order to lead their best lives. I help women with a wide variety of mental health concerns including:
• Stress
• Anxiety and Mood Issues
• Life Transitions
• Trauma and Loss
• Relationship and Parenting Struggles
and More…
A significant part of my practice focuses on helping women and their partners with issues related to reproductive mental health including infertility, miscarriage and infant loss, birth trauma, and pregnancy and postpartum concerns. It was my own challenging journey to motherhood, combined with a long-standing interest in women’s health, that led me to build a therapy practice focused on women’s wellness.
I love my work and feel so fortunate that I’m able to spend my days supporting other women. I’m inspired by my clients’ courage, and their pursuit of a life well-lived. When I am not with my clients, I treasure spending time with my family. I also love being with friends, traveling, reading, and staying physically active.
Experience and Mental Health Training
For the past 15 years, I have been providing support and counseling for women in the mental health field. Through my work in hospitals, schools, clinics and private practice settings, I gained broad-based training and experience, and had the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients including: adolescents, survivors of domestic violence, women struggling with eating disorders, and high conflict couples and families. Throughout my training, my greatest joy and my deepest passion always centered on women’s issues.
Specialized Training + Experience
in Reproductive and Maternal Mental Health
My specialized focus on women’s well-being began in college and continued in my Ph.D. program, where I researched family building with an emphasis on reproductive and maternal mental health issues. This work laid the foundation for my clinical training and practice. Before starting my private practice, I spent eight years working at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. I worked both in the antepartum unit and the NICU. During that time, I mentored mothers who were hospitalized because of pregnancy complications, and I supported parents with babies that were born prematurely or with other health problems.
I also led support groups for pregnant women and new moms and dads as they transitioned into parenthood. This work, which was extremely rewarding, continues to influence how I work with women and parents in my practice today.
I am passionate about learning and enhancing my skills in the area of reproductive and maternal mental health. I have completed a leading edge, ten-month Postgraduate Program on Fertility Counseling. I am professionally certified by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and I currently participate in an Infertility Consultation Group.
I have had the privilege to train under Harvard Medical School health psychologist, Alice Domar, Ph.D, and I continue to receive advanced training in her internationally recognized Mind-Body Program for Infertility.
I am EMDR trained and utilize this technique to treat various types of trauma including reproductive trauma. I have done extensive training with Postpartum Support International (PSI) and world renown postpartum expert Karen Kleinman in the area of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. I have served as a volunteer for PSI and Resolve (The National Infertility Association), and I currently serve as the East Bay Coordinator for HAND (Help After Neonatal Death), where I also run support groups.
I understand the complex emotional, psychological and physical struggles that can affect women during their reproductive and postpartum experiences, and later as they deal with family, work, and life challenges. Most importantly, I know that with support, women can and do feel better.
My Approach
to Counseling
My approach to therapy is collaborative and solution-focused. In a safe and supportive environment, we will identify and work towards your treatment goals. I will help you to relieve any distressing mental-health symptoms, and to change ineffective patterns or behaviors. I will also highlight your strengths and help you uncover resources to increase your coping, self-efficacy and resilience.
I take an active, engaged role in sessions, and draw upon a range of evidence-based modes of therapy. These include mind-body therapies, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), positive psychology, cognitive-behavioral strategies (CBT), humanistic-existential theories, mindfulness, EMDR, and interpersonal and client-centered interventions. My approach is warm, encouraging, culturally-sensitive, and non-judgmental. I incorporate feminist principles that consider how societal views and pressures can influence an individual woman. I believe in collaborating with a client’s physicians, alternative health care providers, and others in order to provide the best care possible.
Get the Counseling & Support You Need
You don’t have to struggle alone. I have the training and experience to help you work through challenges and be the best version of yourself. If you are interested in individual, couples or group support, please reach out to schedule a complementary 20-minute phone consultation.
License
Marriage and Family Therapist
California Board of Behavioral Sciences, License #102954
Education
Stanford University, PhD (sociology/social psychology)
Santa Clara University, MA (counseling psychology)
Boston University School of Law, JD
Bucknell University, BA (women’s history)
Postgraduate Trainings/Certifications
Advanced Clinical Training in Alice Domar’s Mind/Body Program for Infertility (the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health at Boston IVF)
Fertility Counseling Postgraduate Program, Sharon Covington, MSW and Linda Applegarth, EdD
American Society for Reproductive Medicine , Mental Health Professional Certification
Postpartum Stress Center Advanced Training in Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Karen Kleinman, LCSW
Postpartum Support International , Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care Program
EMDRIA trained EMDR therapist
Professional Affiliations
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
East Bay Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
American Society of Reproductive Medicine (Mental Health Professional Group)
Postpartum Support International
Helping After Neonatal Death
American Association of Mind-Body Medicine
