Welcome
Welcome to my website.
I am Dr. Yuko Ninomiya, Licensed Psychologist providing psychotherapy to individuals, couples and families in private practice in San Francisco, California.
Psychotherapy provides a safe space to explore and examine troublesome symptoms such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and interpersonal conflicts. We will define your habitual coping patterns, namely your unique defensive structure, and slowly uncover difficult past events and feelings that you buried to survive. These character aspects are now blocking your healthy self-expressions and authentic self. Eventually your growing self-awareness and the release of long-held emotions will take you to a new life phase.
My therapeutic approach is psychodynamic with a specialty in character analysis originated with Wilhelm Reich. He understood the importance of seeing character patterns, treating these as defenses and dissolving them. He developed a somatic approach that correlates with character types.
As a bilingual and bicultural therapist, I pay attention to the integration of diverse backgrounds of each client such as race, ethnicity, and gender identity.
My style of therapy is warm, collaborative, intuitive, and engaged in your process deeply.
Successful psychotherapy can provide personal restructuring – you will be able to resolve conflicts, decrease negative thoughts and self-defeating behaviors, gain more functional coping styles, enhance your ability to achieve goals and have more satisfying relationships.
Please contact me if you have any questions or are interested in working with me. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Who I Help
I help individuals, couples and families, from launch age, adults and elders, who seek therapeutic service for a variety of issues. Please click on a mental health issue at below left for more information on each area of treatment…
Depression
Anxiety
Trauma
Loss and Grief
Isolation/Loneliness
Life Transitions
Personality Disorders
Dissociation
Sleeping and Eating Difficulties
Self-Esteem and Identity
Personal Development and Self-Realization
Marital/Family Therapy
Codependency
Chronic Health Conditions
Stress-Related Symptoms
Psychosomatic Symptoms
Support/Stress Reduction for Caregivers
As a bilingual and bicultural therapist I help with cross-cultural struggles and work with immigrants, those who have immigrant parents, interracial couples and families.
Cross-Cultural Adjustment
Racial Identity
Interracial Couples/Families
Immigrant Families
Psychotherapy requires a very active effort on your part and a willingness to share feelings and express emotions that you may find uncomfortable. Weekly commitment to the process helps you move through challenging times. Successful psychotherapy is a result of a good working collaboration between a patient and a therapist. Your weekly participation and active effort are absolutely essential.
How I Work
My therapeutic approach is psychodynamic with a specialty in character analysis. I may include Orgonomic biophysical therapy (Reichian bodywork) if the patient and I determine it can be of value. My theoretical bases and approaches also include Jungian psychology and dream analysis, Psychosynthesis and guided imagery, expressive arts, and integrative medicine. I may introduce these approaches based upon needs and therapy process of each patient. Please click on a therapeutic method at below left for more information on each kind of therapy…
- Reichian Character Analysis
- Orgonomic Biophysical Therapy
- Dream Analysis
- Diversity/Multicultural Therapy
- Interracial Couples/Family Therapy
About Reichian Character Analysis
In order to make real changes to your life, it is critical to examine your habitual coping patterns and style, namely your unique defensive structure. These repetitive coping patterns and strategies you developed since infancy and childhood – in order to ward off difficult and uncomfortable feelings – create your character structure. Due to this false presentation of who you are, your façade, you are often out of touch with your true feelings, needs, desires, and your true Self. Character Analysis will help you see your unique defense systems, shed them and develop a true Self.
About Orgonomic Biophysical Therapy
Your character structure is mapped out also in your physical body in the form of chronic muscular constrictions (also called body armoring) as results of having contracted breathing and suppressed feelings. The combination of character analysis and biophysical therapy is a comprehensive therapeutic approach that addresses those long-held feelings, tension and stress in your body that can cause physical symptoms. Bodywork helps alleviate these symptoms, restore natural breathing and increase energy flow through the release of chronic muscular holding. Thus, in the course of therapy, I address the body-mind interface because our emotional traumas can turn into biological conflicts, and if they go unheard or unexpressed, eventually may cause disease.
Benefits of Biophysical Therapy:
- alleviate symptoms of depression
- ease anxiety and panic
- decrease stress-related symptoms
- assistance with eating and sleep disorders
- reduce physical symptoms and rebalance nervous system (headaches, nervous disorders, digestive problems, and sexual dysfunction)
- emotional and physical release, followed by an increased energy flow
- access stored memories
- restore capacity to relax
Biophysical Therapy Includes:
- restoration of healthy breathing
- body work: massage and deep tissue muscular intervention
- facilitation of deep feeling expression
About Dream Analysis
Images and dream content can be a strong guiding principle which can provide important unique insights and awareness necessary in a deep individual work. Images often go beyond your broken record thinking and directly speak to your troubled mind. Dreams often create striking images to bring your attention to an issue you need to face.
About Diversity/Multicultural Therapy
Diversity issues create complications that compound with character issues. I pay attention to your unique cultural backgrounds and gender identity. I focus on resolving psychological conflicts so that integration process takes place. The aim of this integration is to create what an Asian immigrant psychoanalyst, Dr. Salman Akhtar, called Hybrid Identity. My role as a therapist is to guide you through this transformative process.
About Interracial Couples/Family Therapy
To break dysfunctional interaction patterns, the first thing you learn in therapy is honest sharing and deep listening. With deep listening exercises, you will learn to control your reactivity, quiet your mind, and focus on what the other person is saying. You truly have to put yourself inside the skin of the other and experience their reality and suffering as your own. Thus, deep listening exercises will enhance your understanding and compassion for the other.
While developing this foundational ability for relationships, dysfunctional interaction patterns will be examined from three angles: differences in cultural backgrounds, character styles, and life/family histories. As your defensiveness, self-justification and judgmental attitude subside, you will gradually see how your own personal problems and historic wounds are tangled up with those of the other. This comprehensive approach will reduce arguments effectively and increase emotional closeness and mutual understanding.
About
Yuko Ninomiya, Psy.D.
I am a Licensed Psychologist with a private practice in San Francisco, California. My specialty is Reichian Character Analysis and Biophysical Therapy. As a postdoctoral fellow and a staff psychologist, I worked with culturally diverse clients at Adult Outpatient Clinic of Richmond Area Multi-Services Inc (RAMS) in San Francisco.
License
Licensed Psychologist (California License No. PSY29076)
Certificate
Accredited Orgonomist, Orgonomic Institute of Northern California
Integrative Medicine Education Certificate, Specialization in Guided Imagery & Expressive Arts, California Pacific Medical Center Institute for Health & Healing
Education
Doctor of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Master of Arts, Clinical Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies
Clinical Training
Orgonomic Institute of Northern California
Richmond Area Multi-Services Inc (RAMS)
Access Institute for Psychological Services
California Pacific Medical Center Institute for Health & Healing
Citywide Case Management, UCSF Department of Psychiatry
Professional Affiliations
San Francisco Psychological Association
Rates & Insurance
Fees
Individual Therapy 55 minutes $220
Couples/Family Therapy 55 minutes $220
Insurance
Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance company. I am currently accepting insurances below although please inquire as this does change.
Aetna
Kaiser (Northern California)
Medicare (with supplemental insurance)
UnitedHealthcare
I am also happy to issue you an itemized invoice that you can send to your insurance company for reimbursement. Also you may be eligible to use funds from a pretax medical saving account (MSA, HSA).
Office Location
San Francisco Market Street Office
870 Market Street, Suite 907, San Francisco, CA 94102
(at the corner of Market & Powell)
(415) 682-4525
Telehealth Video Office
Currently most therapy sessions are provided via Telehealth video conference.
Contact Dr. Ninomiya
Please complete the form below. Shortly I will contact you to hear about your issues. I am looking forward to speaking with you. Since we have a duty to protect your private information, please do not include confidential information below.
Practice Policies
Length of Treatment
A course of psychotherapy can last from 2 months to several years depending on the particular problems being addressed and other circumstances (i.e. finances, time, interest). Most therapies fall somewhere in between.
Session Length
Sessions are 55-minutes in duration.
Office Hours
Monday through Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with some weekday evening hours available.
Confidentiality
The information discussed in therapy is confidential and not discussed with others except under certain circumstances. These potential exceptions are:
- If there is a reasonable suspicion of a child, dependent or elder abuse or neglect.
- If a patient presents a danger to self, to others, to property, or is gravely disabled.
- If you sign a release of information to share information with specific others.
- If there is a court order to appear or to produce records.
I may consult with other professionals regarding your treatment, however your name or other identifying information is omitted. Your identity remains completely anonymous, and confidentiality is fully maintained.
Cancellations, Rescheduling and Missed Appointments
Each of my patients has a regular weekly appointment time reserved for them. If you are unable to make one of your appointments, you should notify me as far in advance as possible, so that we can attempt to reschedule. I will make every effort to find an alternative time for your session.
Since scheduling an appointment involves the reservation of time specifically for you, a minimum of 48 hours advance notice is required for re-scheduling or canceling an appointment. The full fee will be charged for sessions missed, cancelled, or rescheduled without such notification except true emergencies. Insurance patients will be expected to pay this fee out-of-pocket, the amount of which will be based on the regular fee ordinarily paid by your insurance company. If you miss three or more consecutive sessions, your weekly session day and time will not be guaranteed.
Termination
Thoughts of quitting may occur before you reach the completion of your treatment. It is normal in the therapeutic process to feel frustration and want to leave the process prematurely. Always mention any resistance to treatment that you feel and thoroughly discuss it in sessions before deciding to quit. If you decide to quit, please have at least one termination session to review our work together.
