Virginia Reed Murphy, M.A.
Many of us reach a point in life where the ways we’ve learned to cope no longer feel effective. I work with people navigating a major life transition who are feeling stuck, anxious, or overwhelmed in their lives. You might be a parent trying to support a child who is in crisis, feeling emotionally exhausted, ineffective and also frustrated by the systems you are encountering. You might be an adult child navigating grief, loss, and the complex realities of supporting aging parents. You may be a young adult needing to learn additional coping skills, process unresolved trauma, and set and accomplish goals to build the life that you want. You may be a spouse seeking connection in your relationship, but finding yourself frequently in conflict, feeling isolated or misunderstood by your partner. You may also be grappling with tensions between your personal values and the expectations of your workplace, community, or institution, wondering how to remain authentic while navigating competing demands and responsibilities.
When facing great challenges and change in our lives, relationships can be a source of strength and comfort, but they can also be a place where we get hooked into unhealthy patterns creating significant stress at a time when we need to feel grounded and equipped to meet our struggles with skillfulness, ease, and deep self trust. You might wonder why your efforts to move forward or help don’t seem to be effective,or feel trapped by a playlist of strong emotions - irritability, anxiety, sadness , or loneliness , causing your body and mind to feel constricted, preventing you from moving towards the growth and connection with others you long for and deserve.
In our work together you’ll find a supportive, non-judgmental space to slow down and make sense of your experiences, a space to get untangled from self limiting beliefs and build stories of new possibilities and hope . My goal is to help my clients develop self-compassion, resiliency and agency, enabling you to confront challenges, embrace growth, and build a meaningful life that expresses your fullest potential.
My integrative approach blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative therapy with its focus on meaning making and transformation of story, as well as psychodynamic and transpersonal techniques. I support clients in clarifying values, increasing psychological flexibility, building useful tools for lasting change, and taking committed, practical steps towards cultivating a life of intention.
I hold a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Drama Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies and am a certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher through the Greater Good Science Center, at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to my work as a therapist, I have over 20 years experience facilitating transformative healing work through the practice of Playback theatre, informing my creative and intuitive approach, as well as my commitment to honoring the social, cultural and political context that shape each person’s experience.
In my own healing journey I have learned to regulate my nervous system and build resilience through practices such as mindfulness, meditation, yoga, time in nature and creative expression. These practices continue to support my well-being and influence my work with clients. I integrate these different approaches thoughtfully, depending on what feels most helpful to you. I aim to make therapy co-creative, transparent, and an experience that evolves to fit your needs. Whether you are seeking support for grief, depression, anxiety, effects of trauma, addiction, intimacy concerns or relationship challenges, when we meet you will experience my compassionate, but also direct approach.We will listen together. We will get curious together, and we’ll explore what’s happeningbeneath the surface. I’ll hold space for you as we work together to relieve some of thechallenges you’re facing, learn new skills and techniques to help you feel more in control of your emotions, and begin to shift what’s not working, so that you can move towards life with greater awareness, perspective, clarity, and self trust.
In over 20 years of working with individuals who, often times and understandably, arrive with great skepticism about the therapeutic process, I have never ceased to be amazed by the profound healing that can be unlocked when one chooses to both accept and honor their doubt, while simultaneously finding the courage to continue to engage the process. Whether you feel hopeful or hesitant, or somewhere in between, I am here to meet you wherever you are and move forward together with respect and deep care.