He/Him/His
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT Licensed Psychoanalyst, LP Psychologist, PhD Specialties • Insurance & Fees • Locations
Michael Guy Thompson, Ph.D. received his psychoanalytic training from R. D. Laing and associates at the Philadelphia Association in London and his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley. In 1988 he founded Free Association, Inc., a not-for-profit psychoanalytic salon and training program devoted to integrating existentialism and psychoanalysis, in San Francisco.
He subsequently joined the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California in San Francisco where he is currently a Personal and Supervising Analyst and Faculty member, and is a past President of the International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education (IFPE), and the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology (NCSPP).
Dr. Thompson is the author of more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews on existentialism, psychoanalysis and psychosis, as well as six books: THE DEATH OF DESIRE (1985), THE TRUTH ABOUT FREUD’S TECHNIQUE (1994), THE ETHIC OF HONESTY (2004), THE LEGACY OF R.D. LAING (2015), a revised and expanded edition of THE DEATH OF DESIRE: AN EXISTENTIAL STUDY IN SANITY AND MADNESS (2017, 2nd ed.), and most recently, ESSAYS IN EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOANALYSIS: ON THE PRIMACY OF AUTHENTICITY (2023). He is has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Spain, and Australia over the past thirty years. Dr. Thompson is a member of varied psychoanalytic organizations, including the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA), the College of Psychoanalysts (UK), the Philadelphia Association, London, and the Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies.
Dr. Thompson has been training psychoanalysts for more than forty years and in 2022 founded the NEW SCHOOL FOR EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOANALYSIS, a two-year virtual training program that trains candidates worldwide, culminating in a Certificate in Existential Psychoanalysis. He practices existential psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in San Francisco and lives in Berkeley, California.
Anxiety - Coping with excessive worry, nervousness, or stress; intense discomfort in social settings (social anxiety); sudden and intense feelings of panic (panic disorder)
Bipolar disorder - Developing coping and preventive strategies to stabilize extreme mood swings, including manic and depressive episodes; increasing effective strategies to regulate emotions and maintain a healthy daily routine
Depression - Providing support and promoting healing of hopelessness, low motivation and energy, sadness, irritability, sleep disturbance, and loss of interest and pleasure in life
Relationship issues - Understanding one’s wants and needs in relationships; exploring patterns of interaction, addressing concerns, and strengthening satisfaction in relationships and dating
Trauma - Coping and healing after threatening or scary events, such as witnessing accidents or experiencing sexual, verbal, emotional, or physical abuse
Existential crisis & challenges - Supportive exploration of meaning and purpose in one’s life; finding one’s path in the face of existential anxiety, dread, and feelings of meaninglessness
While I am not on insurance panels, I am happy to help you submit out-of-network superbills to your insurance company wherein you will likely be compensated a percentage of my fee, anywhere from 50 to 80 percent in most cases, depending on how your insurance policy is written. If you do not know what you insurance policy is for out-of-network compensation reach out to your insurance company and ask.
Years of Experience: 37 years
self, private practice, 1986 - Present
The Wright Institute, PhD Clinical Psychology, 1985
Philadelphia Association, Ltd., London, UK, Certificate in Existential Psychoanalysis, 1980
California: 21927
English