Regina Walterman

Regina is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #115712 and art therapist intern ATR-P, working under the supervision of Gwen Chiaramonte, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker #10937, and Amy Backos, a Licensed Psychologist #24943 and Registered Art Therapist #99191 for completion of her supervised MFT and art therapy hours. Regina graduated with honors from Notre Dame de Namur University with a Master’s of Arts Degree in Marriage Family Therapy and a Specialization in Art Therapy. She completed her undergraduate degree at San Francisco State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development.

Regina has been working therapeutically with children and teens for 3 years, more recently through SPG (The Speech Pathology Group) and contracted to work in 3 separate middle schools with teens aged 12-14 years in the public school system of SFUSD. Regina also previously worked with children and teens, aged 7-17 years, at Catholic Charities- St. Vincent’s School for Boys (which was a short-term residential treatment facility -STRTP), were she worked with severely traumatized, abused, and neglected foster youth. Regina also received her practicum training at Sutter Health Hospital’s -CPMC (California Pacific Medical Center), were she worked with transitional teens, adults, and geriatric Alzheimer patients 18 and older.

Regina’s therapeutic passion resides working with children and teens, as she believes complete therapeutic healing is possible at any age, but especially at a young age when children and teens thinking is so malleable to compassionate and empathic coping skills appropriately modeled to them, and distress tolerance taught to face life’s many challenges and to further development. Regina has also had the opportunity to work with children and adolescents of all ages in various job sectors not only as a therapist (AMFT) and art therapist (ATR-P), but also as a previous nanny for 15 years, preschool teacher, gymnastics instructor, group home counselor, court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteer for a traumatized youth for 3 years, nanny for autistic children, and she also performed art therapy research with homeless transitional youth.

Regina is an integrative and holistic therapist and art therapist, and mainly pulls from therapeutic modalities of DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), mindfulness practices, somatic awareness, expressive arts, motivational interviewing, and also CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), attachment theory, trauma-informed care, strength based, and structural family therapy. Regina strongly believes that every child, teen, and family is different, and one modality of therapy may work for one child, teen, or family, while not for another. Utilizing multiple modalities of therapy, while incorporating all of Regina’s previous work experiences allows her to be an effective therapist, active listener and communicator, and empathetically meet her clients where they are at by attuning to their multifaceted needs for connection, awareness, processing, problem solving, change, growth, discovery, healing, and wellbeing.

Through working in the public school system, in residential with foster youth, at Sutter Health’s- CPMC hospital, and as a nanny for over a decade, Regina was trained to work in individual, group, and family therapy, and received additional training on trauma informed care, working with abused children, attachment behaviors and concerns, suicide awareness, prevention, crises and pain management, risk assessments, harm reduction, substance abuse and prevention, motivational interviewing, mindfulness practices of all five senses, somatic awareness, and also with IEP’s (Individual Educational Plans), DIS (Designated Support Instruction Services), and ERMES (Educationally Related Mental Health Services) cases. Regina has done therapy with children and teens who have various disorders, such as: depression, anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, bipolar 1 and 2, and she has also worked with individuals with eating disorders, individuals that have been severally abused and/or bullied, who identify as LGBTQ, individuals who have low self-esteem, or experiencing grief and loss, individuals performing self-injurious behaviors, or with family concerns, and she has also received extensive training in these areas. She is also Pro-Act (Professional Assault Crises) Certified and SF CANS (Child Assessment of Needs and Strengths) Certified, and she loves learning as much as possible on other subjects to help her clients along their therapeutic journey.

In her free time, Regina enjoys being active in nature, attending concerts and festivals, traveling, creating artwork, and spending time with her loved ones.

Regina offers in person and Telehealth therapy to clients in our Campbell and San Francisco offices. She works Sunday-Thursday, and she has day and evening appointments available to make it convenient for parents, teens, and children to attend.

Specialties:

• Art Therapy and Expressive Arts
• Trauma and Abuse
• Attachment and Relationship Concerns
• PTSD
• ADHD
• Crisis Prevention
• Teen Depression
• Teen Anxiety
• Social Anxiety & Panic Attacks
• Bullying
• LGTBQ
• Eating Disorders
• Addiction and Harm Reduction
• School Refusal

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