SUPPORT FOR HEALTHY LIFE PATTERNS...  RELATIONSHIPS...ACCOMPLISHING YOUR GOALS...HEALING FROM LOSS AND TRAUMA...FINDING RELIEF FROM INACCURATE, SELF-SABOTAGING, & SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS...GAINING TRUST IN SELF & ONE'S OWN INNER AUTHORITY...ENJOYING THE LIFE YOU DESERVE...PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS...

"My Focus is always that everyone deserves the utmost respect for his/her process of healing and recovery in a genuinely safe therapeutic environment." 

COLLEEN RUSSELL, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC29249), Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP) Has Over   20 Years of Experience Providing General Psychotherapy and Counseling for Individuals, Couples and Families in Addition to Facilitating Groups. She Specializes in the Following: High-Demand Group or Cult Education & Recovery;  "Motherless Daughters"; Early Parent Loss; Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress; Adults Neglected and/or Abused as Children; Clergy Abuse; Couple Counseling.  Other Areas of Expertise Include Depression; Anxiety; Self-Esteem; Self-Identity; Personal Rights; Transitions; Meaning of Life Issues.  Her Office Faces a Redwood-Covered Ridge in Mill Valley, CA, 10 Miles North of San Francisco. Phone Consultations, Counseling, and Psychotherapy Sessions Are Also Available.  Please Call: 415.383.7721;  Long Distance: 800.619.5705; Email: crussellmft@earthlink.net.  
                          

                             "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
                                                      Anais Nin (1903 - 1977)

Offering the Following Safe, Respectful Psychoeducational, Exploratory Support Groups:
 
MOTHERLESS DAUGHTERS SUPPORT GROUP for Women Who Have Lost Their Mothers Through Death or Abandonment in Childhood, Adolescence, or Adulthood. Every Other Monday, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, Mill Valley, CA.

CULT (or HIGH-DEMAND GROUP) RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUP for Former Members Including Those Born and/or Raised in Them.  These High-Demand Groups or Cults may be referred to as "Religious", "Spiritual", "New Age", "Eastern", "Political", "Large Group Awareness Training", "Psychotherapy", "Philosophical", "One-on-One",and "Family". EVery Other Saturday, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, Mill Valley, CA.
   
                                       -- CLIENT COMMENTS --

"All in all I would say that our work together continues to have been a grand success...Having worked through much of the underlying pain and conflict, I simply no longer feel the need to be intoxicated -- there is no pain left to kill. That is a freedom so fantastic that it remains hard for me to express in words." --Robert

"As a motherless daughter I now realize that for years following my mother's death I didn't allow myself to feel my pain or to confront how her death and illness affected my life. Now I'm able to be myself and not let my perception of others' feelings dictate what I do or say...The pain has subsided and even the shame I somehow felt. I can now comfortably say 'I'm a motherless daughter' because it's part of who I am." -- Janice

"I thoroughly appreciate your consistent professionalism, gentle support, and understanding. I'm leaving our group as a 'new person' in some ways...I'm sad that I won't be seeing everyone regularly, but I'm excited about my life.This 'graduation' was not possible in the cult."  -- Sara
 

"I spent roughly two years meeting with Colleen, and at times with the group she maintains. I was at a complete loss for a definition of what I wanted or needed to do to regain control over my life, mind and body. I was riddled with doubt about her ability, and it was a significant challenge to learn to trust her, and myself, in the process of finding a pathway to healing. 

"There was no moment of epiphany, no instantaneous clarity, no magic. Indeed, the expectation of such things is itself a side effect of the cult in which I was involved. There was no secret knowledge, no higher level to obtain... What we did 'together' was form a partnership, a team. Our objective was deeper understanding, but not special knowledge or the revelation of secrets.

"All individuals will face their own challenges, but for me, it seemed that the process was akin to shedding a second skin of personality and behaviors that had been imposed on my psyche. It took time, and effort, and was fraught with setbacks and doubts.

 "It was ultimately worth it. Life today is not perfect, but then, it is not perfect for anyone and I have learned not to expect to be so. Over time, the nightmares came less often, the paranoia melted away, and my need to self medicate dissolved. I found out that it was possible to simply be, without having to be something or someone or somewhere. I could simply exist, with all my faults and gifts, with all my highs and lows, and within a world of many shades of gray, instead of a world filled with only black and white."-- Paul

View of the Garden Close to My Office

 
You may contact Colleen Russell by phone: 415-383-7721; long distance: 800-619-5705 or email:  crussellmft@earthlink.net. She generally replies within 24 hours.