Mirjana Kelava, PhD

My therapeutic approach is compassionate, nonjudgmental, and warm. I integrate psychodynamic and interpersonal therapy with CBT/ACT and Mindfulness and Acceptance approaches to help you gain insight into your problems and develop better ways of dealing with your issues and relating to others.

I believe that it is a privilege to be entrusted with helping people who are in transition, struggling in their lives, and/or are working towards becoming the best version of themselves. I enjoy seeing people understand themselves better, make positive changes, and live more meaningful and content lives.

I strive to provide a trusting relationship and safe environment in which to identify, explore, and help you address those issues that are causing distress in your life. I want to help you to gain insight and understanding about yourself and to work on skills that lead to improving resilience, acceptance, self-compassion, and that lead to a more fulfilling life. Viktor Frankl said: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

I received my BA from UC Berkeley and my Ph.D. in Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (1993). I have provided psychotherapy in the SF Bay area for over 25 years and have worked with a diverse client population in numerous mental health settings. I have worked in jails, skilled nursing/rehabilitation facilities, psychiatric inpatient units, community psychology clinics, and a county crisis clinic; I have had a private practice since 2003.

California Psychological Association

Alameda County Psychological Association