Welcome back to Conversations with Clinicians where we interview one of our associate therapists. We like to give you this opportunity to learn more about the way that they work. It can also give you insight into therapeutic modalities, approaches and techniques. Today, meet Jordana del Feld, an associate therapist in San Francisco who uses a foundation of relational therapy informed by other modalities in order to “help people build parts of their lives and of their relationships.”
What is your therapeutic orientation?
The heart of my work is relational therapy. Everything is in support of the therapeutic relationship. That said, some modalities that support my therapeutic relationship with you are: mindful somatic work, expressive arts, DBT, hypnotherapy, and transpersonal work.
What are your areas of specialty?
I help people build parts of their lives and of their relationships. This rebuilding often addresses questions of personal agency, communication, intimacy, power dynamics, and life transitions.
What other modalities inform your work?
I developed the core of my understanding of therapy in the Integral Counseling Master’s Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Expanding out from the core, though, I also spent two full years studying Expressive Art Therapy at the Center for Creative Arts Therapy in Chicago, and I have a Master’s of Fine Arts from New York University.
I’m also a licensed massage therapist and bodyworker, a registered yoga teacher, and a dancer.
I have also developed a 30-year-long consistent Buddhist mindfulness practice, and studied Asian philosophy at Columbia University.
I believe connection with the natural world is an essential part of the therapeutic journey, and I studied therapeutic landscape design at the University of Washington.
I’ve also studied business for many years, and used to give creativity, flow, and emotional intelligence workshops at startup incubators.
What is it like to work with you?
My clients say that I am insightful, compassionate, and direct, and that our work helps them feel empowered. My first priority is to support clients where they are. When appropriate, I invite explorations of our many senses, our imagination, and our subconscious, as opportunities to learn and grow.
Who do you LOVE working with?
I love working with rainbow zebras. Creative, original people who, because they are one-of-a-kind, can struggle with feeling insufficiently understood, heard, and valued by the outside world. Artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who have tremendous unique gifts to share but often feel lonely. People who might have a tough time fitting in, because they were born to stand out. How do we build lives that nourish and celebrate our unique selves?
What most inspires you about doing this work?
I am always inspired by how much I learn from my clients, by the trust they put in our therapeutic relationship, by their courageousness in exploring unknown realms, and by the tenderness of their human hearts.
What do you do outside of the work to stay inspired?
Outside of work, I dance tango, I make pottery, I draw pictures, I sing songs, I play my cello, I write, I swim and do yoga, and I spend time with friends and family.
What is one thing that clients might be surprised to learn about you?
I travelled all over the world dancing and teaching tango. I now stay in San Francisco, but I still teach tango, helping people develop curiosity, compassion, and clear communication in relationships. Because what you explore on the dance floor is what you explore off the dance floor.
If you could sum up in one sentence why someone might go to therapy, what would you say?
Someone might go to therapy because they want to claim yesterday with compassion, craft today with clarity, and create tomorrow with confidence.
What is one takeaway moment that you’d like to share from your own experience as a client in therapy?
Profound growth doesn’t always arrive heralded by fireworks and a parade. It often sneaks in through tiny moments of stillness.
Give us your best recommendations for …
Best places to laugh and cry in the Bay Area?
- China Beach
- the Japanese Tea Gardens
- the Wave Organ
Best self-care suggestions …
… for free
Just for today, try extending to yourself the same degree of compassion, patience, and love that you extend to others. Just for today, try saying “no” to choices and people you know are not in your own best interest. Just for today, notice a simple pleasure about being alive and say “thank you” for it. And then try doing it all again tomorrow!
… on a budget
Go out, by yourself or with people you care about. Or stay in and cook a delicious dinner, by yourself or with people you care about. Explore a new activity, by yourself or with people you care about.
… and at a higher price point?
Get some good therapy. Travel. Study. — Life is short. Do “it,” whatever “it” is, now.
Favorite books?
- Favorite therapy book: *The Dance of Intimacy* by Harriet Lerner
- Favorite book of essays: *Upstream* by Mary Oliver
- Favorite novel: *Smoke* by Ivan Turgenev
- Favorite play: *Arcadia* by Tom Stoppard
- Favorite comic book: *The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes* by Bill Watterson
- Favorite book of poetry: *The Sonnets* by William Shakespeare
Favorite quote?
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” (*The Road Not Taken* by Robert Frost.)
What are some of your favorite films, songs, podcasts, etc. that relate to therapy?
- Film: The cartoon *Ratatouille.*
- Song: The traditional Quaker hymn *Simple Gifts.*
- Vlog: *Marketing for Hippies.*
- Newsletter: Esther Perel’s *Where Should We Begin?*
And one more thing you’d like us to know?
I’m here to join you on your journey.
How can potential clients contact you?
Jordana del Feld
Supervised by Svetlana Kreimer LMFT#53525
Phone: 415-936-0369
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.jordanadelfeld.com/
Where is your office located?
San Francisco, the Inner Richmond
You can also contact us at Center for Mindful Psychotherapy to learn more about working with Jordana del Feld or any of our associate therapists.
Guest Posts by Jordana del Feld
- How to Calm Your Anxiety No Matter Where You Are
- Guess Less to Connect More
- Paralyzed by Perfect? Practice Peace with Your Inner Perfectionist
- How to Get Out of Your Own Way
- How to Start When You Can’t Get Started