Claudia Sinay Mosias

I have been a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 25 years.  I specialize in treating anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and depression.  I am also very interested in what it means, and how to become, a fully functioning, fully alive, human being; emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.  Recently I have moved my practice to one which is exclusively online which offers added convenience for all clients in California where I am licensed.

I have an interactive style and a humanistic bent which means that I will not only listen, but talk and offer observations and guidance.   I have been in a relationship since 1981 and have been meditating since 1975.  In my 20's and 30's I suffered from debilitating anxiety.  I mention these personal facts because they, along with my training and experience, inform my work to a tremendous degree.

I received my graduate education at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, earning my Masters Degree in 1987,  Since that time I have co-directed my own counseling center, trained interns, run therapy groups, participated in online webinars speaking about topics relevant to psychology and healing and served as an examiner for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.

At CIIS I learned a particular philosophy and method of psychotherapy which I still employ today.  I call myself an "Existential Humanist" which means that I believe in meaning.  Everything in our lives has meaning, including and perhaps especially, our trials and "pathologies".  It is my job to help you find meaning and to use that information to make your life more functional, peaceful and happy.  The "humanist" part has several definitions.  Some say it implies an interactive/solution focused style.  Others may say that it involves what it means to be human and to learn to accept ourselves for that and celebrate it.  I believe it is all that and more.  For me, I  being a humanistic therapist is about authenticity.  I bring my authentic self to the relationship and I encourage you to do the same.  It is from this place that healing and growth begin and from this place we grow even more into our true authentic selves.  I am also a pragmatist.  If you are suffering from panic or PTSD or if your relationship with a parent, friend, spouse or child is falling apart, meaning is certainly there but you also need tools to stop the suffering, pain and fear.  Over a 30 year time span I have developed quite a tool bag that I am excited to share.  If you are having panic attacks, you need to make them stop.  If a relationship is failing, you may need communication skills or anger management or mindfulness practices.  I have these tools and more to offer.

CIIS is also a school that teaches Transpersonal Psychology, a mode of clinical practice that brings the realm of spiritually into psychotherapy.  This, of course, will aid in finding meaning, but it also has a practical side in that learning to meditate or doing relaxation, mindfulness and creative visualization practices, will ease mental discomfort in most who employ the techniques.  

Learning to control the mind and the ego is another important aspect of how I work.  When we know who we really are, in other words, know our authentic self, we realize that we are not the ego or the mind but that we can master these very important and prominent aspects of self and not be a slave to them.  

In this world that has been accelerating at a pace beyond our expectations, and sometimes beyond our ability to cope, how do we attain peace, happiness and fulfillment or at least the absence of anxiety and depression?  Locked within your own personal story lies the answer to this question. Whatever "pathology" you present with can be turned into a "path" toward your own healing.  It's a journey I would like to take with those willing to embark on it.  It isn't easy, this journey, but it is necessary.