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 LIFE IS WEIRD

 You don't have to figure it out alone 

A decorative cool-toned collage with blues and yellows depicting figures holding hands on a sad balloon, two hands holding opposite sides of a thread, a face crying stars, and two children carrying a stretcher with a masked angel.

The world can be...a lot.

HI, I'M ADRIAN.

Image of Adrian, wearing silver double-bridged glasses and a black sweater with a purple button up collar visible, sitting in front of a lot of succulents in what they've been told is a very cheesy pose (chin on fist, arms crossed).

I'm glad you're here. I know looking for a therapist can be tough, so I hope I can answer some of your questions about myself and how I work. For a brief snapshot: I'm a double Cancer who loves cats and soup and media involving magic or space (extra points if it involves both). In case that doesn't answer all your questions...

My love of psychology is intertwined with my passion for stories and writing. So much of our lives are the stories we tell ourselves, or the stories that we've been told. I love using imagination to rediscover and rewrite our own truths.

Part of my own story is that I am a fat neurodivergent queer trans person of color. My identity and lived experience are an intrinsic part of who I am and how I practice.

I think healing can look like a lot of different things. It can be self-help books, fan fiction, tarot cards, hanging out with plants, breathing exercises -- there are as many ways to navigate feelings as there are feelings. I see therapy as a collaboration and I hope that together we get to imagine what healing looks like for you.

ABOUT
Cool-toned collage of a weeping angel with a white rose behind them.

Go ahead. Feel your feels.

Working With ADRIAN

How I Work

To me, therapy is an opportunity to tell your story in a non-judgmental space, to really unfold, unpack, and explore it deeply. It's a place to learn what you'd like to let go of, what you'd like to hold on to, and what you'd like to let in. My goal is that at the end of therapy, the folks I work with will feel that they have a kinder relationship with themselves and feel they are able to choose their own adventure in the narrative of their life.

Conscious and Evolving.

I am continuously working to understand how systems of oppression touch our everyday lives. I strive to mitigate power differentials through transparency, openness, and ongoing training, consultation, and self-education. I invite frank conversations, and prioritize my clients feeling witnessed.

Creative and Eclectic.

In a session with me, we might be discussing your family by assigning them all characters from Lord of the Rings, or drawing your feelings onto a paper bag, or shaking our arms like happy Muppets to practice somatic coping strategies. I believe art and creativity are amazing paths to self-discovery, healing, and authentic weirdness.

Centered on Liberation.

My background in body liberation and explorations in power, culture, and identity inevitably show up in therapy. Messages that attack our bodies--our skin, ability, sexuality, gender, etc.--are rampant. Part of how I work is recognizing this, and working with clients to deconstruct these messages and find new peace with all of our parts.

Collaborative and Client-Centered.

This work don't work without the client. We're plotting this path together--I bring my curiosity, humor, compassion, and my box of tools; you bring your expertise on you and all the wisdom you might not know you have. Together, we get to figure out what's right for you.

Modalities I Use

I identify as an eclectic in how I practice therapy (and really in how I do most things in life), and so I draw from multiple theoretical frameworks. This is evolving and expanding all the time as I encounter new ideas and modalities to better support my clients. Here's a little information about theories that currently inform my work. The approaches I use are also dependent on what each individual client is looking for, comfortable with, and interested in.

Narrative Therapy. Narrative Therapy is a collaborative approach that sees the individual as separate from or more than their challenges, working to form a more rich and complex picture of ourselves and our social context. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). At it's core, CBT focuses on the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how different tools and strategies addressing one of those levels can create larger overall shifts.

Somatic Therapy. Somatic therapies recognize our bodies as an important source of information in understanding our emotions an experience, and, through strategies like grounding and regulation, a source of healing and change.

Expressive Arts Therapy. Creativity like visual and 3D arts, writing, poetry, and movement can all be amazing ways to express and explore emotion, challenge our inner critics, and flex our ability to imagine new possibilities.

Who I Work With

In my 10 years in the mental health field, I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of amazing people. I've worked with a wide range of clients, and find that the folks I work well with are individuals who are curious, open to exploring, and committed to trying things out. And that don't mind an occasional pun. I offer all potential clients a brief introductory phone call to see if we feel like a match. If you're interested, click here to connect with me.

  • Folks with anxiety, a "fawn" response, and/or a rude inner critic. 

If you're looking to re-center yourself in your life, and figure out those whole "boundaries" thing, let's chat.

  • Intellectualizers and folks feeling out of touch with themselves.

If the line between "thinking" and "feeling" seems like a hard one to cross, I get it. I enjoy supporting people in finding ways to notice, understand, and eventually maybe even embrace their own emotional experience.

  • People who have been "othered" or feel "in-between."

I love helping people explore their sense of themself and sort through what we've been told is true about us and what's actually true--especially when our identities are complex.

  • Anyone interested in deconstructing internalized stigma.

While it's true that therapy won't stop oppression, it can help heal ways we replicate oppression within and against ourselves.

  • Everyone interested in changing their relationship to self and body.

As a practitioner who believes in body liberation, I want to support clients in finding a more caring and supportive relationship to self.

TL;DR: Adrian's Areas of Focus

  • Anxiety, Depression, PTSD

  • Sexual, Romantic, and Gender Identity

    • Kink and poly friendly

  • Issues Around Body Image and Body Relationship

  • Major Life Transitions

  • Grief and Loss

  • Relationship Issues, Boundaries, and Communication

  • ADHD and Related Challenges

  • Self-Esteem and Self-Worth

  • Exploration Around Cultural and Racial Identity

  • Navigating Emotional Overwhelm with Somatic and Expressive Techniques

Interested in working together?

Collage with pinks, yellows, teals and blues with a circulatory system. Over the heart is a word bubble saying "You Are Here." Beneath this is an open eye, on the sides are cupped hands holding spiral shells.

And you got this.

CONTACT & LICENSING

Tel: 510 - 775 - 2394

Email: Adrian@LifesWeirdLetsDiscuss.com

I am a practitioner with

Axis Mundi Center for Mental Health.

Learn more here.

LMFT #123936

LPCC #13930

Licensed under legal name,

Leyla Antonia Eraslan

SERVICES

LOCATION

444 34th St.

Oakland, CA 94609

Paid Street Parking is Available

No stairs to enter building; accessible, non-gendered bathrooms available on-site

Telehealth Available

to all California Residents

All collages on this site were created by Adrian using a free resource called FreeMix.com

AVAILABILITY & RATES

$150 for

50 Minute Individual Session

Sliding Scale Appointments are Fully Booked at this Time

In-Person and Telehealth Available

Tuesday and Thursday

Mornings and Limited Evenings

Under the "No Surprises" Act, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate of Services. Learn more here.

Practice Information

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WorkSHOPS With ADRIAN

Body Lib 1.jpg
Self Expression 1.jpg
Self Care 1.jpg

In my variety of professional lives, I've had many years of experience in education and facilitation. From asking groups of participants to draw their feelings in workshops to providing structured lectures on intersectionality in Body Liberation, I've been lucky to be in rooms with wonderful people supporting tiny trips of growth and mutual learning. My style as a facilitator is similar to my therapy work: warm, curious, and, always, with a hint of absurdity. I offer the following workshops in 1, 3, and 6 hour formats. If you're interested in booking a workshop or training for your group or organization, please reach out for details and scheduling.

Basics of Body Liberation

One of my joys in the work I do is working with people to shift their relationship with their bodies through deconstructing internalized fatphobia. I've offered trainings at multiple universities and mental health agencies to help people explore approaches to freeing themselves, and each other, from the toxic myths standing between us and body liberation.

Self-Care Real Talk

I like to believe that we're all beyond the point of thinking of self-care as bubble baths and breathing. When we talk about self-care, we don't always discuss the real obstacles, internal and external, to building a sustainable practice. In this workshop, we get into those nitty gritties, and I offer a framework to help imagine what real self-care looks like for you.

Art for an Open Heart

When we let ourselves just put images, marks, and words on the page, we bypass how we think we should feel, and get into what is. I've sat with clients, participants, and students as we make a space for something true to emerge. In the container of multi-modal experiences, we can build a practice of using our imaginations as a vital part of understanding who we are.

CONTACT

GET IN TOUCH

Thank you for reaching out!

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

Crisis Support, National

  • National Crisis Line 800-273-TALK (8255)

  • Trevor Project (LGBTQ+) 800-843-5200

  • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 800-950-NAMI (6264)

  • More Hotlines

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