Hi! My name is Claire Roberts and, as a licensed psychotherapist and certified EMDR therapist, my passion is helping people who are feeling depressed, anxious, overwhelmed or discouraged and who long to live more satisfying lives, and find peace, hope and empowerment even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

And in case you are curious, let me tell you a little bit about myself and my personal background …

From a young age, while growing up in England, I always knew I wanted to be a mental health practitioner. This has been my lifelong passion. I’ve just always had a strong desire to encourage and help people overcome whatever difficulties they face. Helping people has always come naturally to me. You could call it a “calling” or even a “gifting.”

There were many things that were not right in my family of origin; somehow I just knew there was a better way, even from a young age, and this has motivated me to help you to victoriously emerge from a less than perfect past into all the very best life has to offer.

I began my career in England in my early twenties, where I worked for six years as a mental health professional in both hospital and local social services agency settings.

I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1980, completed a Master’s degree in Geography at UC Berkeley and got married in 1987. After the birth of my three children, I resumed my career as a mental health professional here in the United States in 1990, working towards my license to practice psychotherapy as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. (Incidentally, the training to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker have a great deal of overlap.)

I obtained my California State License in 2004 and have been in private practice ever since. In addition, I have also supervised trainee and intern therapists who are working towards licensure.

In 2005, while an intern at Christian Counseling Center San Jose, I began training to become an EMDR therapist. This was incredibly exciting, as I witnessed how very powerful this tool is.

My training in EMDR therapy transformed the way I work with my clients, and I have since gone on to train in and apply several other equally powerful techniques (Image Transformation Therapy and Feeling State Addiction Protocols) as well. These are the main approaches I use in my practice.

However, these aren’t the only approaches I use with clients …

When you need a sounding board or a sympathetic ear, I am always available to just listen, or even to simply sit with you in silence in a particularly sad or difficult moment. Or maybe you need help learning and applying healthy communication and conflict resolution skills in a relationship that is challenging you, or help setting boundaries and finding relationships with “safe” people? Maybe you need some help with parenting skills?

Having been a mental health professional my entire adult life, I have many decades of experience to draw on and will work with you to put together a treatment plan that will be custom fit to your unique issues and goals.

Last, but certainly not least, I am a mother with three wonderful young adult children (a daughter and two sons), a wonderful son-in-law, and a precious and cute one-year-old grandson, as well. I have a very wide circle of friends, including many from all over the world. When I am not busy with family and friends, I am an avid gardener and interior decorator, cook, photographer, hiker and world traveler. I live life to the full and my passion is to help you to do so, too!

To learn more about how the different counseling and psychotherapy services I provide can help you, I encourage you to contact me today, while you’re thinking about it, and schedule a free initial consultation. I can be reached by phone at 650-680-7124 or by email at claire@gclaireroberts.com. I look forward to speaking with you and helping in any way I can.

Online Psychotherapist, EMDR Therapist in Palo Alto, California – G. Claire Roberts, LCSW