Kate Benham-Suk, MD

I am a Columbia and UCSF trained psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in Oakland. I believe psychotherapy helps individuals heal from trauma, attain greater self-understanding, feel more fully alive, and develop stronger relationships. I utilize a variety of therapeutic modalities with an emphasis on psychoanalytic psychotherapy. This means together, we will explore both your conscious and unconscious thoughts and motivations. I also work from an intersectional feminist viewpoint with an ear to the effect of our social world on lived experience. This is a time of intense fear and isolation, and I believe therapy can offer a place to think and have real human connectedness, both of which are increasingly rare and under threat. Medication is also a tool that can be helpful, and I prescribe where indicated, in collaboration with my patients’ goals and preferences.
 
While I treat adults with all types of concerns, I also focus on expectant and new parents. The transition to parenthood is always complicated. It can be wonderful, but it is often stressful and painful too. I address issues including postpartum depression, anxiety, or OCD, labor and delivery trauma, miscarriage, infertility, and medications during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I enjoy working with individuals on any part of the gender spectrum as they approach these major life events. I also enjoy exploring issues related to the body, as well as gender and sexuality. 

I see patients both virtually and in person. I am licensed to see patients located anywhere in California.