If you are in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic. If you are in crisis, these helplines answer now:
Crisis numbers in the United States of America
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text 988: Tel: 988 | Text: 988 | Tel, for a Spanish-speaking counsellor: 988, then press 2 | Text, for a Spanish-speaking counsellor: AYUDA to 988
- Veterans Crisis Line, 988 then press 1: Tel: 988, then press 1 | Text: 838255
- Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741: Text: HOME to 741741 | Text, in Spanish: HOLA to 741741
- Boys Town National Hotline: Tel: 800-448-3000 | Text: VOICE to 20121
- All crisis lines in the United States of America
This page lists Child Psychologists in Oakland. 3 in all.
How therapy with children works, and how parents are involved
Therapy with children follows how children communicate. That is more often through play than through explaining.
Parents bring children about worry, low mood, or behaviour at home or school. Other children come after a family change, or after something frightening.
It is not a school assessment, and it is not a report on parenting.
What a psychologist does, and where assessment fits in
Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.
Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.
Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.
What this page filters on
These are the only filters: the specialism recorded as Child and the professional title psychologist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my child old enough for therapy?
Practitioners see very young children too, in a different form. Play is a natural way for children to communicate their thoughts, feelings, experiences and trauma. The practitioner picks the method to fit the child, not the other way round. Say your child's age at first contact and ask what a practitioner would do.
Will I be told what my child says?
Not all of it, and the arrangement is set before the work starts. Parents are treated as partners in the work rather than kept outside it1. What is shared and what is held differs with the child's age and with local law. Ask a practitioner to set out their arrangement at the first meeting.
What happens in a first session with a child?
Often a practitioner meets the parents first, or the parents and child together. Play, drawing and games are the way in rather than a break from the work. Ask how parents or carers will be involved in the work. Ask before you book.
Is this an assessment for school?
No. This filter lists practitioners who work with children therapeutically. Educational assessments, reports for schools and reports for courts are separate pieces of work, and not every practitioner does them. If a school has asked for a report, say so at first contact and ask whether a practitioner provides one.
The Oakland page answers more questions about therapy there.
Who registers therapists in the United States?
The title you will see is Licensed Psychologist.
A practitioner must hold a current licence from the state board where they practise. See the United States page.
Nearby places and related listings
- Couples Psychologists in Oakland
- Teen Psychologists in Oakland
- Trauma Psychologists in Oakland
- Female Family Therapists in Oakland, one filter on the full Oakland family therapists list
- Family Therapists in Oakland
- Psychologists in Oakland
- Every therapist listed in Oakland (25)
- Couples therapy in Oakland
References
[1] Landreth, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (2012), chapter 9. Parents as partners in play therapy.
Real choice. Authentic, independent, clinician-led care.
TherapyRoute is a clinician-led directory that champions independent practitioners who answer to you and their professional ethics. We don't take commissions, sell your data, or assign therapists by algorithm. You browse, compare, and choose.
Vincenzo (Enzo) Sinisi, Clinical Psychologist (HPCSA), Psychoanalyst (IPA/SAPA), Group Analyst (IGA)
