About Shira Luft

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCS #23864) and earned my Masters Degree at Smith College School for Social Work. My Bachelor's Degree is in Psychology with a minor in Education. My professional training also includes the post-graduate training program at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley, CA and over ten years of work in the field.

I have provided therapy in community based non-profit agencies, Kaiser Permanente's Psychiatry Department, and high schools. I strongly believe we are not only influenced by life events and our families of origin, but also by the social context(s) in which we live and how they shape our identity.

The foundation for effective therapy is a safe, respectful space in which thoughts and feelings can be expressed and explored collaboratively. People describe me as an engaged, empathic, non-judgmental therapist. While well-trained in contemporary psychodynamic, attachment, and relational theories, ultimately I am guided by discovering what will be most useful to each person.

"You will never be able to escape from your heart.
So it is better to learn to listen to what it has to say." ~ Paulo Coelho