Dylan Berkey, MA, MFT
Contact Dylan:
dylan @ psychologyofwomen (dot) com
323.369.0755 x 12
Schedule Your Appointment
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in addiction and recovery issues, trauma, body image disturbances, and transitioning from adolescence into adulthood. I have particular experience and interest in working in LGBTQ communities.
I graduated from Hampshire College with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (Performance Art/ Feminist Theory concentration). As a dancer, I became extremely interested in and horrified by the way in which women are socialized into alienation from their bodies. I was enamored by Feminist critical theory, but always sought out more integration of body-based and mind-based practices than I experienced in either the dance world or the world of academia. My interest in the relationships between lived experience and social constructs led me to pursue studies in postmodern theory and psychoanalysis, as well as further my engagement with Feminist theory. I sought out a graduate program in Clinical Psychology that was grounded in Feminist psychoanalytic theory. My thesis work centered on post-Lacanian French Feminist psychoanalytic theory as applied to identity in queer women. I earned my Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with a Feminist emphasis from New College of California in San Francisco.
During my graduate studies, I interned at community clinics, working with clients ranging from high-functioning to severely mentally ill. In my first internship, I worked primarily with clients with affective disorders and phase of life issues. I then transitioned into a training program at a community mental health clinic headed by a Lacanian analyst who became my mentor. There, I was able to put my theoretical interests into practice, working with a largely psychotic population from a Lacanian psychoanalytic perspective. I worked with many indigent LGBTQ clients, in particular transgender people and queer sex workers. It was during this internship that I developed specific interest in the relationships between trauma and addiction.
After my internship, I was hired by the clinic. I developed a Dual Diagnosis program for the day treatment aspect of the clinic, focusing on trauma as an underlying feature of addictive disorders. I worked with individuals, couples, and groups. During this time, I also worked as a private practice intern, where my practice specialized in LGBTQ clients, couples, young women transitioning into adulthood, and addiction/recovery issues. As an adjunct professor in the graduate program from which I earned my degree, I instructed post-Lacanian Feminist theory and Couple Therapy courses, as well as serving as a thesis advisor.
After moving to Los Angeles, I worked with adolescent girls and their families in a level 12 residential treatment program. I also began facilitating groups at residential and outpatient addiction treatment facilities throughout Los Angeles. I was hired by an outpatient addiction treatment center to develop a psychosocial program for their patients. In addition to program development, I provided individual, couple, family, and group therapy. I then devoted my energy to developing my private practice (TRAVERSE Integrative Outdoor Therapy), in which I integrate psychotherapy and outdoor physical exercise, bringing together my interests in psychological and body-based practices. Though I love my practice, I wanted to reconnect with a group of women working to promote empowerment in other women. I am thrilled to be part of the team of vibrant women therapists at the Center for the Psychology of Women.
Degrees, Certifications, and Memberships
New College of California
Master of Arts, Clinical Psychology (Feminist Emphasis)
Hampshire College
Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Studies (Performance Art/Feminist Theory Concentration)
State of California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Clinical Member, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Member, Women’s Association for Addiction Treatment
Member, San Francisco Society for Lacanian Studies
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
You may also be interested in:
- Therapist Profile and Interview with Addiction and Recovery Expert Dylan Berkey- Jessica LeRoy, MA, MFT
- Celine Elise Alvarez, Psychotherapist Intern
