Psychoanalytic Therapy in San Francisco and Throughout California

I practice therapy at my office in San Francisco and online throughout California—with teenagers, individual adults, and couples. I treat anxiety, depression, and other common psychiatric disorders, but I do not think of human beings primarily in terms of diagnoses. I come to this work via the broader project of my own life, fifty-plus years of trying to understand the human condition. That pursuit has taken me through a PhD in Literature; decades as a novelist, memoirist, and journalist; and a master’s degree in psychology, plus my own effort to live with integrity and authenticity. So I think of human lives—and whatever I can do to help—through the holistic lens of all my reading, listening, and being in the world.

If I had to describe my therapeutic style, I’d go with warm, compassionate, and focused. If I had to label my approach, I’d call it psychoanalytic, meaning that I work from the premise that much of our mental and emotional life is invisible to us and that coaxing it into light can set us free. You can learn more about my thoughts on psychotherapy, and its intersection with contemporary neuroscience, in my recent article for the New York Times: Therapy Needs Help.

For now, I will just add that insight is only one part of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Equally important is a collaborative and genuine relationship built on shared exploration of a client’s dreams, hopes, and vulnerabilities. It’s about finding the safety and flexibility to wander the past, hear its harmonics in the present, and, from their shared music, discover new ways of being.

As for my professional affiliations, I currently serve at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis as both Chair of the Division for Academic and Research Psychoanalysis and Director of the Writing Committee. I serve also at the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group as a member of the Education Committee.

Finally, on a practical note, I am a Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT #155759) employed by Psychotherapist Coach: A Marriage and Family Therapist Corporation. I am supervised by Lynndal Daniels, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#78183). My office is on Gough Street in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.

If it sounds like I might be able to help, send an email to dan@danielduanetherapy.com or click the button below.