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Colette Mercier

I have been a professional helper since 1998 when I joined the staff of Bay Area Women Against Rape as a Rape Crisis Counselor and Legal Advocate. Prior to being a therapist, I delivered babies for 15 years.  I provided holistic prenatal, birth and postpartum care as a Licensed Midwife

I’ve attended over 400 deliveries. In each one I learned about human resilience.  To contend with pain and come out stronger in the end is a process birth and therapy have in common. In the prenatal and postpartum periods, we open ourselves to fears, physical discomfort and anxiety about the unknown process ahead. I feel that the pain that motivates people to seek therapy is similar. I see it as a pathway to greater love, both for your self and those around you. 

I bring a lifetime of dedication to my own healing when working with my clients. I have struggled with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, family trauma, sexual assault and more. Psychotherapy, good friends and my inner strength have saved my life, more than once. I am also a gardener.  I’m obsessed with plants. I have two cats. I’m older than I look. 

I am striving to confront my own privileges and live with integrity in these complicated times. I have a social justice lens, considering how oppression impacts mental health.  I am committed to being a white anti-racist ally and I am still learning. I am hopeful for a time when people will be free to be themselves fully without rigid cultural norms and systemic oppression. 

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I graduated with a Master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2018. I am trained in Gestalt, Relational Somatic Healing, Hakomi, body-centered approaches to trauma, Mindfulness, Integral Psychology and more. To learn about Relational Somatic Healing’s unique approach, integrating embodied touch into therapy click here. I have also worked with a program at The Child Parent Institute that provides therapy in the home for moms with postpartum anxiety and depression as well as grief counseling with parents who have lost children to medical complications through UCSF.

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