Center for Mindful Psychotherapy is a non profit collective of approximately 100 Associate Marriage and Family Therapists in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more about each of them from perusing our Therapist Directory. In our Conversations with Clinicians series, we interview therapists in more depth. They share more about the work that they do, the clients that they work with, their inspirations, passions, personal interests and more. Today, we’re talking with AMFT Madison Parikka.
Madison brings a unique blend of artistic sensibility and psychological insight to her practice. With a BA in communication and studio art from Cal Poly Humboldt and an MA in counseling psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, she weaves together creativity and clinical expertise in her work with clients. Her areas of experience span a fascinating range from working with only children and complex family systems to supporting queer parents, from the profound work of hospice and end-of-life care to the practicalities of navigating higher education. Whether you’re a competitive equestrian, a theater artist, or someone working in food service, Madison has a way of meeting you where you are. She also brings particular insight to pre-commitment couples counseling, the Enneagram, and parent/teen relationships.
Where is your office located?
I see clients in person in Folsom, CA as well as virtually throughout the state.
What is your therapeutic orientation?
I work from a client centered, trauma informed framework and I pull from a variety of orientations to best meet the needs of each of my clients individually.
What are your areas of specialty?
I specialize in life transitions, folks feeling disconnected from their core selves, and grief.
What other modalities inform your work?
More as a human framework than a therapeutic one, my identity as a creative and nature oriented person often informs my work.
What is it like to work with you?
I feel that my clients would describe me as grounding, easygoing, and openminded.
Who do you LOVE working with?
I enjoy working with a wide variety of demographics, but I particularly love working with folks who have gotten lost in their relationship to themselves, and are seeking support in nurturing this most important internal relationship.
What inspires you about this work?
This work is inherently inspiring, because I get to be witness to folks showing up, choosing, and investing in themselves week after week. There are few things more powerful than that in my opinion! To keep myself inspired outside of the therapy room, I am always seeking out natural spaces to keep me grounded in the rhythms of being a living thing.
We’d Love Some Recommendations From You…
… for the best place to cry in the bay area:
I can’t speak to the Bay specifically, but best place to laugh is at a dinner table full of friends, and best place to cry is without a doubt in the car!
See what other therapists have said!
… for self care practice on a budget:
My best recommendation for free self care is definitely to have a cuddle or a nap in a sunbeam with your pet! My recommendation for self care on a budget is a drive to your favorite natural setting with a snack and a book (bonus if it’s warm enough to take your shoes off!). A higher price point self care recommendation is to connect with a friend over a good meal.
get budget self-care suggestions from other therapists
Favorite non-therapy book:
My favorite non-therapy books are undoubtedly the Harry Potter series (I invite a conversation about my love for the magic of these books being in stark opposition to my alignment with the politics of the author).
Favorite self-help book/ therapy book:
Favorite “therapy” books are probably Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb and Women Who Run With the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
See other books our therapists recommend on Goodreads.
If you could sum up in one sentence why someone might go to therapy, what would you say?
Therapy is a turning towards one’s self.
What is one thing that clients might be surprised to learn about you?
I am an art school dropout!
What is one takeaway moment that you’d like to share from your own experience as a client in therapy?
I don’t have one takeaway moment, but I’ll say that I think it’s vital for therapists to be clients too. We can’t support others in exploring their internal landscape if we aren’t doing the same work ourselves!
Anything else? Closing words or something about who you are/ how you identify that you would like to share?
I’ll close out by saying that life is just a series of very small moments, and I find myself overcome with gratitude that I get to spend many of my small moments relishing in what it means to be human and to witness others in their humanness.
How can people contact you?
Name: Madison Parikka
License #: AMFT 150413
Supervisor: Margaret Goodwin, LMFT
Phone number: (916) 678-0241
Website: www.mjparikkatherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Or contact us today for a therapist consultation.
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