Dr. Kagan is currently accepting new clients. She can be contacted either through the contact form on this website or to her email directly.
About Dr. Kagan
My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative, empathic, flexible, and oriented toward achieving the results my clients desire. I provide my clients with skills to increase awareness of and change problematic patterns that can lead to feeling stuck. Left unaddressed, these patterns can take a toll on relationships, work, health, and self-esteem. My goal is to create a comfortable, non-judgmental, and supportive space for exploration and change and to help people get back to living a more meaningful and enjoyable life. In addition, I emphasize a “strength-based” approach to treatment in which I help clients identify and build from strengths, resiliency, and other positive qualities they already have, and use those to overcome obstacles.
I have a particular passion for helping parents cope with the challenges that can arise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. I work with many new moms and dads and understand how common it is to feel a mix of emotions during this vulnerable stage in life, including overwhelmed, anxious, guilty, exhausted, happy, and sad...and sometimes all within the same day! I draw from a variety of evidence-based approaches to provide the most effective interventions to help people not only cope better on a daily basis, but also to shift from surviving to thriving.
Clinical Specialties
Perinatal Mental Health (postpartum depression and anxiety)
Depression
Anxiety Disorders (worry, panic, phobias, social anxiety, stress)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Life transitions
Relationship stress
Treatments
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills and mindfulness strategies
Self Compassion
Education and Training
I earned my doctorate in psychology from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium in Palo Alto and my undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Los Angeles and my post-doctoral training in private practice in San Francisco. My other clinical experiences include providing evidence-based treatments for depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, and insomnia in outpatient clinics at the Palo Alto VA, San Jose Job Corps, and the San Francisco VA.