Dr. Peter Gold, Ph.D.
Mind-body medicine has been the central focus of my academic and clinical career. My master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation both examined how the body can be used to engage, heal and transform the psyche. My clinical work focuses on supplementing traditional talk therapy with meditative movement. Mind and body are used to help and heal each other.
Experience
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Private Practice
Active and ongoing private counseling practice open to kids, adolescents, adults and couples. Integrating movement into talk-therapy is my specialty. Specifically I use the moving meditation of qigong to help people access and process issues and trauma that have either not been addressed or have not been fully responsive to talk therapy alone.
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YWCA Counseling Center
Therapist for women and men with chronic, acute, and moderate mental health disturbances including anxiety, depression, sexual/physical/emotional abuse issues, bereavement, career/employment challenges, and sexual identity issues.
Therapist for (1) adults working with substance abuse/addiction issues, life transitions, and grief and loss issues; and (2) children with displaced home and detachment issues.
Therapist for medical students with adjustment, transition, spiritual growth, and relationship issues.
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Russell Street Counseling Center
Mental health therapist for men and women working with BDSM relationship issues, trauma, sexual and social identity, grief and loss, and employment development.
School mental health therapist for junior high and high school kids with family, school, and relationship issues as well as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
Though each individual and life circumstance is singular and unique, I support all the people I work with through unconditional acceptance, presence, genuineness, and responsiveness. Life can be very difficult at times and I believe therapy should be, first and foremost, a safe place for people to reflect and process their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Education
Formal and practical training
- Ph.D. in Depth Psychology with an Emphasis in Psychotherapy; M.A. in Counseling Psychology with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute; B.A. in philosophy with a minor in sociology from Kenyon College.
- Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner
- Specialist in Depth Psychology with emphasis in Jungian, Freudian, Archetypal, and Imaginal Psychology
- Specialized training in Human Sexuality and Cultural Psychology
- 15 years of personal therapy and analysis
- 18 years of experience working with people as a Licensed Massage Therapist
- 20 years of daily qigong, yoga, and meditation practice
- Extended service and educational travel in European, Asian, and African cultures.
My graduate work and personal experience has emphasized the importance of engaging the mind and body with the underlying dynamics of symptoms. By working with the roots of issues–in addition to their manifestations–core dynamics are addressed and transformed so that life can be a richer, more meaningful and more fluid experience.
“Humans are asked to make themselves what they are supposed to become to fulfill their destinies.”
-Paul Tillich