” Richard is a very compassionate, sincere, and dedicated therapist who is not afraid to step outside his comfort zone to connect to his client. As a gay male, I always felt that he held an unconditional positive regard toward me, which enabled me to connect to my deeper feelings and to embrace my positive attributes, including my sexuality, in order to achieve my personal, spiritual, and professional goals.”

submitted by a former client, Stanford graduate student and MD/ PhD candidate, 2004

Richard J Barnes, M.A., LMFT Bio

My thoughts on therapy:

As I pursued my passion to work with others in a psychotherapeutic setting, I, like many others, remained somewhat skeptical of the value talk therapy has to offer.  I can attest, that now having worked with clients over the years, I have witnessed time and time again the true value that a psychotherapeutic relationship can provide. 

Through hard work, honesty, and commitment, a therapeutic relationship brings forth genuine opportunities for new & useful insight, new eye opening perspectives, the application of new and working coping skills, a freedom from debilitating challenges like anxiety, panic, depression, a renewed & focused life plan, significant transformational changes, and more. 

Therapy works once you make the powerful decision to do something different in your life.

My Training:

After training at University of CA, Santa Cruz, University of San Francisco, and Stanford University,ten years in corporate business, private practice, 7 years as a psychotherapist and Manager of Intake and Assesssment at Fremont Psychiatric Hospital Outpatients Services, as private practitioner at Bay Area Psychiatric Associated, and Program Director at Center for Discovery Eating Disorder Residential Treatment Center in Danville since 2015.  I have witnessed the true power psychotherapy & honest relationships have to offer, and I am always energized to work hard with each client who makes the decision to walk into my office and share their experience & challenges. 

My training with diverse populations has helped me to be sensitive to cultural differences and the unique pace each client requires.  I’ve learned that the quality and comfort of the relationship up front, is integral to the progress going forward. 

My Approach & interests:

My style is sometimes direct, yet comforting and empathetic as well.  My approach is psychodynamic…embraced with the tools of cognitive behavioral techniques where appropriate, and accompanied by a language that is solution-focused and results oriented. 

By way of the populations I have gained experience with, combined with my own personal experiences, I am most specialized in the areas of anxiety, panic, social anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorders, acculturation adjustment, depression, grief, couples/relationships, coaching & life planning, but am open to discussing the dynamics of other personal challenges as well. 

Education:

*  University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A. in Psychology.
Graduated 1996

*  University of San Francisco, M.A. in Counseling Psychology
with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy.  Graduated
Fall 2004

*   San Francisco Dept of Public Health EAP &
     Psychological Services, MFTi Traineeship, 2003-2004

*  Stanford University Post Masters Fellowship, Post Doc
Psych Program.  Completed Fall 2005

License, Certifications & Awards:

*  LMFT,  Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with the
State Board of California # 80165

Professional Activities and Memberships:

*  California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist,
CAMFT   www.camft.org

*  Local Chapter:  San Francisco Chapter of CAMFT
www.sfcamft.org