You don’t have to carry it all alone
Therapy offers space to explore your inner world—and find your way forward.
Make Space for Yourself in a World That Constantly Asks for More
There’s a quiet pressure to keep things together—to manage, to perform, to take care of everything and everyone. Maybe you’ve been carrying it for so long that you barely notice the weight anymore. But something feels off. You’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself in ways you can’t quite name.
Therapy is a space to step back, reflect, and begin to understand what’s beneath it all.
What if you didn’t have to hold so much alone?
Imagine moving through life with less pressure to be perfect, more clarity about what you want, and the freedom to feel without self-judgment. Therapy isn’t about quick fixes, but it can be a place where you begin to unburden yourself—where you can find space to breathe, understand, and grow in a way that feels real and lasting.
Therapy is A Safe Space to Explore, Reflect, and Grow
Hi, I’m Dr. Elizabeth Stuart—you can call me Elizabeth. I’m a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, based in Oakland, offering insightful, depth-oriented therapy for women who want a space to slow down, be heard, and make sense of what’s weighing on them.
I help women in Oakland, CA, who are feeling:
It’s exhausting trying to be everything to everyone
“If I can just do more, try harder, be better… then maybe I’ll feel okay.”
You move through life carrying the silent weight of expectation—at work, in relationships, in how you look, in what you accomplish. The feeling that you must be exceptional just to be “enough” can be exhausting.
In therapy, we can explore where these pressures come from, how they’ve shaped you, and what it might feel like to let go—just a little—of the need to achieve, please, or prove yourself. Together, we’ll create space for imperfection, self-compassion, and a different way of being.
What do you really want in life?
You’ve spent so much time meeting expectations—showing up, handling things, making it all work—that somewhere along the way, you lost touch with yourself. What do you actually want? What do you feel? What matters to you?
When you’re used to focusing outward, turning inward can feel unfamiliar—maybe even unsettling. But in therapy, we can begin to explore the parts of yourself that have been quiet for too long.
You Deserve Relationships That Feel Good
You long for closeness, but something keeps getting in the way. Maybe you find yourself repeating painful patterns—choosing the wrong people, over-functioning, or shutting down to avoid conflict. Maybe intimacy feels out of reach, or you feel lonely even in relationships that are supposed to feel good.
In therapy, we won’t judge or try to “fix” these patterns. Instead, we’ll explore them with curiosity—so you can understand them and begin to shift them. Together, we can begin to make sense of what holds you back from the connection you want.
Unspoken Feelings Can Weigh You Down
For so long, you’ve pushed certain feelings aside—telling yourself to “get over it,” to stay agreeable, to not be too much. But buried emotions don’t disappear; they surface in anxiety, resentment, exhaustion, or a quiet sense that something isn’t right.
Therapy is a place to make room for everything you feel—not just the emotions you’ve been told are acceptable. Together, we’ll explore what’s been left unspoken so you can begin to move through life with more clarity and authenticity.
How Can I Support You?
In our work together, I offer a space that is yours. A place where you don’t have to perform or hold everything together.
Here, you will be met with warmth, understanding, and the kind of connection that allows something inside to soften. As we make sense of what has shaped you—unspoken expectations, past experiences, the pressures you’ve carried—we also create space for something new. A way of being that feels more grounded, more connected, and more like your own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Psychoanalytic therapy is a depth-oriented approach that explores unconscious patterns shaping thoughts, emotions, and relationships. For many women, it provides a space to reflect on self-worth, identity, and relational dynamics in a way that fosters greater self-understanding and freedom from limiting patterns.
Many women feel pulled in different directions—by work, family, personal aspirations, and the expectations of others. Therapy offers a space to explore these tensions, understand the internal pressures that make balance feel so difficult, and consider new ways of relating to both ambition and rest.
Yes. Motherhood brings profound emotional shifts—some expected, others more complex. Therapy can offer a space to reflect on identity, shifting roles, and the unspoken pressures of being a mother, allowing you to find your own way of navigating the experience with greater clarity and self-compassion.
Our past experiences shape how we move through the world—often in ways we don’t fully realize. Therapy provides a space to recognize and understand how earlier experiences may still be affecting you, whether through patterns in relationships, self-doubt, or emotional responses that feel difficult to name. With this awareness, new ways of relating to yourself and others can emerge.
Sessions are open-ended, allowing you to bring whatever is on your mind—whether it’s a recurring worry, a relationship dynamic, or something you can’t quite put into words. Over time, themes naturally emerge, offering insight into unconscious patterns and deeper emotional truths. The process unfolds at its own pace, creating room for exploration and meaningful change.
