Samantha Howard(She/Her/Hers)

Samantha Howard is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist located in the Bay Area, CA. Samantha works with young adults and adults who are going through major periods of change in their lives. These changes could be the beginning or ending of a significant relationship, leaving home for the first time, finishing school, starting a new job, and retirement. Samantha also supports new parents as they adjust to a growing family and navigating live as a parent. Her clients face challenges of low self-esteem and low self-worth, difficulties in communicating with others, or feeling pressure to balance multiple responsibilities at once. They seek therapy because they want to understand why they feel disoriented in their lives and to combat their feelings of perfectionism.

Samantha’s approach to therapy draws from multiple modalities, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), humanistic therapy, solution-focused therapy, ecotherapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Clients explore their internal worlds, identifying the thought patterns that lead to feelings of being not enough or not good enough. They discuss how change is challenging them. With Samantha’s guidance, they begin to connect their emotional reactions to change back to their childhoods or previous experiences. Samantha also incorporates mindfulness and Ecotherapy practices into her work with clients, teaching them how to remain present in the now and to stay grounded. Sessions are focused on growth, self-compassion, and the development of effective coping strategies.

Samantha earned a Master’s degree from Notre Dame de Namur University. She has nearly 10 years of experience in the mental health field, and is passionate about helping women. Her goal is to eliminate her client’s feelings of shame so they can focus on the positive sides of change.