Derek Rubinstein, Psy.D.

Psychodynamic relational Therapist in San Francisco, California, United States
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  • Therapist Info

    About Me:

    I’m a licensed clinical psychologist with private practice locations in San Francisco and San Rafael where I provide therapy to children, adolescents, adults, and couples in the Bay Area. 

    I received my doctorate in clinical psychology (PsyD) from the California Institute of Integral Studies; a holistic practice-focused program that bridges depth-psychology, the latest scientific research and neuroscience, and the world’s great wisdom traditions. I am grateful for attending a unique program that emphasizes multiple ways of knowing, sociocultural factors, and spiritual dimensions of human experience.

    I have trained and worked in a variety of settings including community mental health clinics doing both psychotherapy and neuropsychological assessments, in-home behavioral services for individuals on the autism spectrum, school and university settings, a harm-reduction based drug treatment center, and private practice. I have also done volunteer work at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and maintain a regular meditation practice. 

     

    Description of Services:

    As Huston Smith eloquently put it, the task of working with psychedelic substances is to transform flashes of illumination into abiding light. I provide a safe and supportive space to help people psychologically and emotionally prepare for and integrate such experiences. I also provide related education, harm reduction, and have experience supporting individuals with microdosing protocols and beyond.

    Engaging in therapy prior to such experiences can help set the stage for deeper psychospiritual growth and transformation. This can include help with intention setting, purpose, and emotional preparation.

    Afterward, the “real work” begins in actively engaging the often profound insights and lessons we can receive. I will help you unpack, expand, process, and integrate your experiences so they can be incorporated into your normal state of consciousness and become a source of wisdom and enduring personal change. These powerful medicines can also be very destabilizing as they unearth unconscious material, potent somatic states, traumas, unresolved conflicts, and rejected aspects of ourselves and our culture. Integration work can help you digest and absorb these experiences so they become sources of growth and positive change.

    I work from an integrative and trauma-informed perspective that bridges psychodynamic, transpersonal, and humanistic-existential approaches among others. I also bring 12 years of experience as a Vipassana meditation practitioner and my own experiences working with psychedelics and plant medicines.

    Credentials & Certifications: Psy.D.
    Licenses: PSY 29215

  • Details

    Remote Practitioner: Yes
    Specializing In: Addiction, ADHD, Anxiety and Depression, Grief and Loss, Life Transitions, Mindfulness-based therapy, Personal Discovery, Psychedelic Preparation and Integration, PTSD, Purpose, Relationships, Spirituality, and Trauma
    Price Range: 200-230

  • My Process

    Overview of Experience:

    My approach to preparation and integration is collaborative, flexible, and individualized based on the unique needs of each person I work with. I don't follow a rigid protocol, so our work together will depend on where you are at and what you are hoping to achieve.

    That said, preparation often involves intention setting, exploring and understanding where you are at in life, working with any traumas or other emotionally salient areas that may come up in your experience, and any education or harm reduction that may be needed. This step is essential to entering into transformational experiences with reverence, respect, and intentionality.

    Integration can take on many forms, but the essence of this fertile time is to actively engage the experiences of your journey or practice and ground them into your mind, body, spirit, and daily life. This may include unpacking, processing, and understanding insights or experiences from the journey, working somatically with bodily states and physical sensations, and developing or re-establishing healthy routines, self-care practices, and spiritual practices.

    Intake Process:

    I offer a free 20-minute consultation to gather information, better understand your unique needs and hopes, and answer questions. This is also a time to gauge whether we're a good fit in terms of my style, approach, and experience.

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