Authentic Alliance, A Licensed Clinical Social Worker Professional Corp.

09/18/2025

Therapy Groups for Autistic Burnout – Now Forming!

Feeling the weight of autistic burnout? You’re not alone. These therapy groups are a space to:
✨ Share and connect through lived autistic experiences
✨ Receive support and understanding from peers
✨ Learn positive skills through workbooks and group discussion

Groups are facilitated by neurodivergent therapists Sage Barrett (autistic, ASW #124762, she/her/he/him) and Ari Neubauer (ADD-inattentive, AMFT #148387, he/him). Together, they bring years of experience supporting autistic adults, with clinical supervision by Lisette Lahana, LCSW #23663.

Interested? Complete our brief interest form (no obligation to join), and we’ll follow up with details:
👉 authentic-alliance.com/groups-workshops

09/08/2025

Sharing my morning reading for the week, along with a bouquet of flowers from my summer garden. Highly enjoying The Mindful Self Compassion, Workbook: A proven way to accept yourself, build inner strength, and thrive. By Neff and Germer. I’ve been enjoying the writing prompts.

📖📝TRY IT: I recommend taking one chapter each morning on.

Rec’d by Lisette Lahana,LCSW.

❓What book is bringing you inner strength right now? 🤝❤️Come work with our staff of incredible therapist on developing self compassion

https://authentic-alliance.com

❤️

09/05/2025

Free Lunch and Learn: Person Centered Expressive Arts with Bridget Bertrand, LMFT.
You don't need any experience with art practice.

🖌️Learn how to incorporate creative expression with your clients

Sign up today for this Zoom event on September 9th at 12:00 pm PST, 1 hour.

Come connect with others! Therapists, Healers, Coaches, Helpers of all kinds welcome.
Sign up required
https://bit.ly/PCEAlunchandlearn

We will also meet
9/16 9/23 9/30 if there is interest

First image: A Rainbow watercolored background that appears behind the text. The text in a box reads: Lunch & Learn, Coaches, Therapists, Healers, Helpers of all kinds are welcome! September 9, 12:00pm 1 hour, Person Centered
expressive arts! Come connect with others! Sign up required We will also meet 9/16 9/23 9/30 If there is interest.

Second image: Art supplies (colored pencil, paint brush, paint, watercolor palette) and the words: You don't need any experience with art practice. Learn how to incorporate creative expression with your clients. If you have trouble with the link email Bridget@authentic-alliance.com.Reach out to Bridget with any questions. Now more than ever we need creativity, calm, and community! Sign up required https://bit.ly/PCEAlunchandlearn

08/30/2025

Learn six ways to feel more hopeful day-to day from our new blog post. ⦾Hopelessness often comes from feeling powerless. By narrowing your focus, building local connections, cultivating spiritual practices, being in nature, and offering kindness, you take back your power.

https://authentic-alliance.com/finding-hope-when-the-world-feels-heavy/

🤝Our mental health providers are here to help you cultivate hope and access internal strength.

📲Book a free, brief first-time meeting at
Authentic-Alliance.com

Picture description: Purple crocus flower blooming from in between an asphault crack in the street.
Photo credit: Canva

Learn six ways to improve your hopefulness day-to day. By narrowing your focus, building local connections, cultivating spiritual practices, nature’s healing, and offering kindness, you take back your power. Hope isn’t about ignoring the world’s problems—it’s about choosing to respond in w...

08/23/2025

🌈 Feeling overwhelmed or powerless in these times?
You’re not alone. At Authentic Alliance, our therapists are here to support you in finding strength, connection, and meaningful ways to create change.

Whether it’s through activism, volunteering, or small everyday actions, together we can explore paths that restore hope and help you feel grounded in your community.

✨ You don’t have to carry it all by yourself—healing and change are possible.

🖼️ Photo description: A notepad with a paperclip reads “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Dr. Angela Davis. Background colors: turquoise, grey, pink, and dark green.

➡️ Authentic Alliance: An LGBT-Welcoming Private Practice

08/15/2025

Meet Ari Neubauer, AMFT — our newest mental health clinician at Authentic Alliance. 🌟

Ari brings warmth, openness, and a bright sense of humor to his work with clients. Drawing from Mindfulness, Somatic Therapies, and Internal Family Systems, he supports individuals, couples, and youth (ages 9+).

His areas of focus include:
✨ Adult Children of Narcissistic Parents
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ Identities
💙 Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria
🧠 Navigating Neurodivergence in a Neurotypical World

Ari offers sessions in-person at Lake Merritt, Oakland, and online for clients across California.

📅 Book a complimentary first appointment and learn more here:
https://authentic-alliance.com/ari-neubaeur/

08/06/2025

Dr. Hilary Grubb is our newest staff member to join our stellar mental health team. Dr. Grubb offers psychiatric care, including medication management for adults across the life-span. Their specialization includes adult ADHD, trauma, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. They have expertise in providing high-quality care for sexual and gender minorities. We are pleased to welcome them onto our growing team! Self Pay, PPO Superbills and limited low fee slots. Downtown San Francisco and Online. https://authentic-alliance.com/

08/06/2025

In times like these, it can feel like everything is unraveling. Rights are under attack, voices are silenced, and our existence is politicized.

But let’s remember: this isn’t the first time. Our q***r and trans and non binary ancestors lived through riots, pandemics, erasure — and still created beauty, art, families, and movements...

This is not the end of our story. It’s a chapter in our long legacy of resilience.

If you’re feeling heavy, know that you’re not alone. At Authentic Alliance Practice, our therapists and psychiatrists honor our history and walk with you in the present.

🧠 LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy
🕊 Trauma-informed. Justice-oriented.
📍San Francisco and Oakland, CA and Online in CA and FL

08/01/2025

Seen on a slow morning walk in Condessa, Mexico City,,,we need these moments of pause to keep going.

07/31/2025

While it might seem like avoiding the things that trigger anxiety would help us feel calmer, the reality is the opposite: avoidance actually reinforces anxiety and makes it worse over time. Learn more about the anxiety avoidance spiral: https://authentic-alliance.com/anxiety-avoidance-spiral/



Photo Description: Person walking out the door, person with hands over face appearing anxious, person in a box with one hand over head.

07/28/2025

📌 How to Know If Your Therapist Is the Right Fit

Starting therapy is a big step. Finding the right therapist can make all the difference.

Here are a few signs your therapist might be a good fit:

✅ You feel safe enough to be honest, even when it’s uncomfortable
✅ You don’t feel judged, dismissed, or rushed
✅ They listen closely and remember what matters to you
✅ You leave sessions with new insight, clarity, or direction
✅ Your therapist welcomes feedback and adjusts the approach if needed

Therapy is not always easy, but it should feel collaborative and respectful. If you feel unseen or stuck in sessions, it is okay to speak up or explore other options. The relationship itself is part of the healing process.

🧠 You deserve support that truly feels supportive.

Reach out today: https://authentic-alliance.com/contact/

07/25/2025

We congratulate Anthony Magnia, APCC, AMFT in his Geek Therapy® Certification. Anthony will be using this strengths-based geek therapy approach that takes into account things you love like games, shows, and stories. Anthony welcomes everyone but has special expertise in working with QTBIMPOC folks and people who identify as neurodivergent, cosplayers, pups, and furries. EMDR practitioner and Trauma Therapist.

Book into Anthony's schedule for a first time, free appointment. Authentic-Alliance.com

Anthony Magnia, APCC #15605, AMFT #144607. Supervised by Lisette Lahana, LCSW #23663



Photo Description: Smiling face with brown beard and moustache, blue glasses, noise ring, brown hair short on sides and curly and blonde on top. Colorful suit with matching tie and Geek Therapy Certifiedlogo.