Experience Counts!

Hi! I'm Barbara Anderson, licensed clinical social worker
and certified sex therapist with over 40 years in practice.

I bring a broad perspective and a practical approach to my work with individuals and couples. I deal with issues of relationships, parenting, unproductive behavior patterns, depression and anxiety as well as concerns around sexuality, including disparate desire, dysfunction, unusual sexual preferences, sexuality and disability and aging, sexually transmitted diseases, gender dysphoria, and polyamorous relationships.

Philosophy of Treatment

Although trained in the psycho-dynamic model of therapy at the Columbia University School of Social Work, I have evolved a briefer, solution-focused treatment approach using cognitive and behavioral strategies. My doctoral work at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality has prepared me to understand the many ways that sexuality can be expressed.

Philosophy of Treatment

Therapy is a process by which a therapist helps clients to:

  • know themselves better
  • understand what motivates them
  • make better choices about their behavior
  • explore options and opportunities to relate more positively

The goals of treatment may be to:

  • improve relationships
  • make difficult decisions
  • change attitudes and expectations
  • develop new skills and behaviors
  • accept situations that cannot be modified

Therapy offers an opportunity to:

  • engage with a competent, trustworthy, helping professional
  • examine current difficulties you are encountering
  • consider alternate ways of dealing with problems
  • establish more productive behavior patterns
  • develop realistic goals for the future
  • put your past into perspective

About Me

Barbara Photo

I am a transplanted New Yorker and opened my first private practice in New Jersey in 1979. I moved to San Francisco in 1993 and practiced there until 2020 when I decided to return to the East Coast. At that point I decided to confine my practice to treating California clients remotely.

I have worked for various agencies such as Jewish Family Service in New Jersey and the Department of Public Health in San Francisco. I am an active member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists and Bay Area Social Workers.

Additionally, I have published several chapters in professional texts as well as in consumer publications. As part of my licensure requirements, I take courses to keep my knowledge of the field current, present professional papers in my areas of expertise, sit
on doctoral committees and supervise colleagues.

Contact me

Barbara F. Anderson Ph.D., LCSW
Phone: (415) 776-0139
Email: basu62@aol.com