Berkeley Therapist Tells LGBT-Parent Families and Career Women, 'Don't Try to Bear Your Burdens Alone'

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- You already may occasionally feel isolated because of your sexual orientation. Add to that the stresses of parenthood: you and your partner are the only same-sex couple at the PTA; you remember your own stress-filled years in school and hope desperately to spare your child that trauma; you are exhausted from trying to overcome homophobic discrimination by being the perfect family; you're afraid that as your kids get older, they will reject you because of your sexual orientation. If you are an LGBT parent, you are probably familiar with these and other unique stressors. Where can you turn for support?

Dr. Shannon Dubach welcomes LGBT-parent families to her Berkeley practice where she specializes in relational psychotherapy for adults, adolescents, and children, and in several targeted areas including the issues faced by LGBT-parent families and by women in demanding careers. Her website, http://www.drshannondubach.com, has resources for those considering psychotherapy and includes several links related to each of her specialties.

"It's so important to find someone who 'gets' your issues and concerns," says Dr. Dubach. "In many cases, I've shared similar experiences."

Dr. Dubach's first career was as a project manager. Early on, she was tagged as the manager who could help employees who were having trouble, able to draw them out and help them turn their problems around.

"I loved spending one-on-one time with people on my projects," Dr. Dubach remembers. "I found great joy in helping them sort through and then work to solve their issues: how to plan, how to think through their roles on the team, and how to anticipate hurdles."

Using real-world experience in addition to formal training, Dr. Dubach now provides similar help to her business clients, many of whom are women and men struggling to balance professional and personal time, sorting out career or financial problems, or dealing with life transitions. "I've been there," says Dr. Dubach, "and that definitely helps. But each person is unique. It is important to find a clinician who avoids trendy cookie-cutter approaches to sorting through life's challenges."

Dr. Dubach changed careers having grown hungry for more meaningful connections, "I realized I was far more satisfied working with individuals looking for growth than I was growing the corporate bottom line."

Dr. Dubach says the biggest hurdle to successful therapy is simply asking for help. "Many of us have a tendency to try to bear our burdens alone. We often can't see old patterns that keep us from growth because they are just that -- old and ingrained. Having reflective time with a thoughtful clinician provides space to remove psychological roadblocks. That can lead to really powerful change."

Dr. Dubach says she hopes to provide a space in which people can untie the knots that prevent them from moving forward.

"In working with a therapist, we have the time and the encouragement to lay out the tangles we're struggling with -- pick them apart, smooth them out, and consider them. When we have that time -- and it doesn't necessarily need to be a lot of time -- to better understand our own lives, we start seeing patterns. We see where we are stuck and we begin to see new ways of moving forward. It helps so much to have someone with us in the process who not only values our efforts but also helps us see potential new paths that we may not recognize thinking on our own."

Dr. Dubach has a different approach to working with children since they often can't articulate their feelings, worries or roadblocks. She notes that play therapy is very effective in bringing out their troubles, as are sessions with parents. "Often, I don't even meet with the child. I work with parents to help them better understand their child and their family's challenges in order to help their child get back on the developmental track."

When asked about adolescents, she smiles, "Adolescence can be a challenge for everyone! Actually, adolescents need a similar environment: a safe place with a trusted therapist who can help them bring to the light of day what they believe is unthinkable and unspeakable. Being able to give voice to those thoughts often frees them from tremendous anxiety."

To find out more about Dr. Dubach's short-term and longer-term therapy options and practice, please visit http://www.drshannondubach.com.

About Dr. Shannon Dubach
Shannon Dubach, a licensed clinical psychologist, holds a BA in Economics, an MBA from Stanford University, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute. Dr. Dubach is also a supervisor and lecturer at the Ann Martin Center and an instructor at the ACCESS Institute for Psychological Services.

SOURCE Dr. Shannon Dubach