About Summar

I have an eclectic therapy style, and incorporate elements of mindfulness, somatic experiencing, expressive arts therapy, compassion focused therapy, parts work, and more. I have developed a relationship with many of these healing modalities through lived experience on my own healing journey. I also use trauma informed, strengths-based, liberation psychology, and decolonial frameworks when working with clients. This means that I work in a non-pathologizing way, and often call attention to the ways in which trauma, systemic oppression, colonization, and capitalism shape our experiences and contribute to our suffering. Your feelings are not a problem to be diagnosed; your feelings are essential to your survival.

Humans need other humans in order to survive and thrive, and healing relational wounds happens in relationships, including the therapeutic relationship. We will work together to build trust over time, and explore what it is like to navigate through life’s journey in your body. I support clients in becoming more acquainted with their bodies and learning how to be more deeply attuned to the messages your body gives. This practice can help you understand how, where, when, and with whom to set boundaries, and discerning when being disconnected is the most appropriate response. It can also support you in feeling more deeply connected to yourself, other beings, and the world around you. In sessions, I will invite you to engage in a variety of practices. Although taking risks and trying out new tools can help us grow, I trust that you know best about what you need, and I will always respect your “no” if you decline an invitation. You are the expert on your experience, and I am a guide on your journey.

My practice is inclusive for individuals who live in marginalized identities. I often support clients who identify as neurodivergent, chronically ill, disabled, queer, trans, people of the global majority, and more. I am committed to practicing deep empathy for the different ways we experience joy and suffering, and oppression and liberation, regardless of whether we share the same identities. Our identities impact all of our relationships, and I welcome discussion about how identity shows up in therapy.

I am a queer, Palestinian-Lebanese, neurodivergent, chronically ill, covid conscious therapist based in occupied Ohlone land (Oakland, CA). I received my Masters in Counseling Psychology with a Focus in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2020. I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AFMT #144630). I work under the supervision of Katherine Nguyen, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #108943) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC #7232). All sessions are held virtually on a secure, HIPAA compliant platform.

To schedule a free 15-20 minute consultation call, please email: therapy.summar@gmail.com

Quotes

"There is a voice inside that does not use words... listen."

-Rumi

"Let me speak to you as a comrade and tell you that we must fight on; that we must rest and breath and not tire."

-Noura Erakat

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced"

-James Baldwin

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way- things I had no words for"

-Georgia O'Keeffe

"Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky"

-Thich Nhat Hanh

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