About David Goldman, MFT

David Jay Goldman is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience as a healing arts practitioner.

David earned his degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integrated Studies, specializing in Somatic Psychology. His undergraduate degree is from Columbia University, from which he graduated Suma Cum Laude.

Studying with leaders in the fields of psychotherapy, bodywork, healing and personal growth, David has synthesized his training into a unique style that helps clients to make deep and lasting changes in their lives.

He has extensive experience working with adults and children in clinical, school-­based and community mental health settings, and is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Get to know me . . .

I am a deep believer in the power of psychotherapy to make meaningful changes in one’s life.

My life trajectory was set in motion at the age of 19 when I developed chronic and excruciating low-back pain that did not respond well to traditional treatments. While at first I rejected others’ help and suffered alone, this humbling pain led me to expand my horizons and eventually to a willingness to try anything that might help.

Over the years I have dedicated myself to understanding and healing this injury, and psychotherapy has proven its tremendous value to me. The interplay between our physical bodies and our mental experience is fascinatingly nuanced and I am grateful to have worked with practitioners capable of holding this tremendous complexity.

Healing has come from newfound awareness and ability to make sense of my thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, helping me to take better care of myself in each moment. I feel privileged that I now get to spend my days supporting others to get more out of life. I am deeply committed to my clients and I enjoy the ongoing process of improving my clinical understanding, skills and efficacy.

Being familiar with a wide array of psychotherapy and healing modalities, I have chosen to study the ways of working that I consider most effective in creating deep and lasting change, and I enjoy the challenge of finding the best way to support each individual client.

I am especially proud of the unique combination of head and heart that I am able to offer my clients. I was fortunate to grow up in a home that was alive with ideas and my intellect was well-nurtured. I thrived academically, engaging my curiosity in numerous subjects including math, science, engineering, economics, literature, film, and visual art.

When working with clients, this knowledge and thinking ability helps me to deeply understand my clients and the challenges they face and to recognize what each client needs in order to grow and heal. While my critical thinking ability was supported as a child my emotional world was painfully neglected and it has taken years of dedicated growth to recover my heart.

I’ve worked hard to learn to make sense of my feelings, to engage vulnerably with others in deep and meaningful relationships, and to push into life with a warm and compassionate heart.