Frequently Asked Questions

Where are you located?

My practice is entirely virtual, so we’ll meet via Zoom. I’ll send you a link to connect when we schedule our first session.

As long as you’re in California at the time of our appointment, we can work together from any quiet, comfortable, private place you like!

How do I set up an initial appointment?

Reach out to me by email, phone, or text. Click here for info.

How long are your sessions?

Generally, they last 50 minutes.

What are your fees?

Please inquire about current fees.

What’s the deal with insurance?

I am not an in-network provider, but many people have coverage for out-of-network benefits for at least a percentage of costs. You may have this as a feature of your current plan.

How do I get insurance to pay for my sessions?

I’ll provide you with a “Superbill,” the documentation insurance panels ask for to reimburse out-of-network psychotherapy services.

Do I have to send the Superbill in on my own?

Not necessarily. If you wish, there’s a platform I use that can submit the Superbill for you.

This platform does charge a fee, so you can decide if you want to go that route or submit it on your own.

Why don’t you take insurance?

There are several reasons. Basically, insurance companies are a pain to work with, especially for providers. Plus, they require an official diagnosis in all cases, charge various fees, and mandate lots of paperwork.

What is your cancellation policy?

Please cancel any scheduled session at least 24 hours in advance to avoid a fee.

Where do I fill out the intake paperwork?

Once we schedule a session, you will receive an emailed link from Simple Practice with the initial forms. Please complete them before our first session.

What issues do you work with?

I help people struggling with dissatisfaction in their lives, lack of professional progress and momentum, demotivation, job loss and instability, discontent in their relationships, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

With whom do you work?

I work with anyone 18 or older, from young adults to elders. I work with people of any gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or ethnicity.

Do clients receive homework assignments?

Often, but only if it is helpful for you in the process. I can adapt to your needs on this.

What will we do in sessions?

I help people connect with their inner guide via the emotional language of their bodies. You’ll learn to converse with your unconscious and redirect its patterns by reflecting on relationships, dreams, creativity, imagination, play, and humor.

What will I get out of therapy?

Through our work together, you’ll become more adaptable, have patience with yourself and others, see things more clearly, create stronger relationships, have more access to all parts of yourself, have more agency and better coping skills, and experience more peace.

What therapeutic approaches do you use?

I have training in many therapeutic approaches, and they all inform my work as appropriate. These include, among others:

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Jungian Psychotherapy
Expressive Arts Therapy
Transpersonal Psychotherapy
Existential Humanistic Psychotherapy
Internal Family Systems
Ericksonian Hypnosis
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Attachment-Based Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Somatic Therapy
Dream Work
Guided Imagery

What is your professional training and experience?

Before shifting to private practice, I worked in many settings, including community mental health, partial hospitalization, residential and day treatment elder care, and with unhoused people.

I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (now Sophia University) in Palo Alto, California, a Master of Arts in Depth Psychology from Sonoma State University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University, where I double-majored in psychology and philosophy, with a minor in religion.

I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in California (PSY 26445). In addition to my psychotherapy practice, I am a professor in the Master’s in Counseling Psychology program at the John F Kennedy College of Psychology at National University, where I train license-track Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC). I also supervise license-track interns in their clinical training.

Previously, I was Chair of Holistic Counseling Psychology at John F. Kennedy University (JFKU), founding director of the Depth Psychotherapy Program, and Director of the Expressive Arts Therapy Program at JFKU. I have also been on faculty at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, California; at Sofia University in Palo Alto, California; and at the Studio for Movement Arts and Therapies in Bangalore, India.

I am a past President of the San Francisco Psychological Association and have sat on the board of directors for the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association and the Association of Transpersonal Psychology. I have published extensively in books and peer-reviewed journals and given talks internationally.

Where do I learn more about your scholarship?

Publications

Kaminker, J. & Lukoff, D. (in press). Transpersonal Models of Mental Health and Illness (2nd edition). In G. Hartelius & H. Friedman (Eds.), Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Kaminker, J. (2024). Wildfire and Asylum: A Terrapsychological Approach to Backyard Pilgrimage. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 83.

Kaminker, J. [Ed.] (2016). Jung and transpersonal psychology: Special issue. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35(2), 1-12.

Kaminker, J. (2016). Images, figures and qualities: Clarifying the relationship between individual and archetype. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35(2), 1-12.

Garcia-Romeu, A., Himelstein, S. P., & Kaminker, J. (2014). Self-transcendent experience: A grounded theory study. Qualitative Research, Retrieved from http://qrj.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/09/25/ 1468794114550679

Kaminker, J. (2014). Mediumship and psychopathology. In A. Rock (Ed.), Mediumship: Theoretical and Empirical Dimensions. Jefferson NC: McFarland and Co.

Kaminker, J. & Lukoff, D. (2013). Transpersonal Models of Mental Health and Illness. In G. Hartelius & H. Friedman (Eds.), Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Media Mentions

KTVU Fox 2 October 2015, CA Interviewed live on television on “The Four” News program “The Therapeutic Value of Adult Coloring Books and the Use of Art in Clinical Practice”

Allay, E. (2016) San Francisco Chronicle, The streets’ sickest, costliest: the mentally ill

International Presentations

International Conference on Mental Well-Being (ICMWB)

Lahore- Pakistan; (to be) presented on March 5,6, 2024 Y. Ali, S. F. Kazmi, and J. Kaminker, “Clinical insight into psychosis and spiritual emergence on valued living in psychotic and non-psychotic individuals of Pakistan; Moderating effect of transpersonal experiences and self-expansiveness

5th Annual International Conference on Spirituality and Psychology

Bali, Indonesia; March 2020

“Wildfire and Asylum: A Depth-Ecopsychological Approach to Backyard Pilgrimage”

Association for Transpersonal Psychology

Pacific Grove, CA; April 2019

“The Future of Transpersonal Education”

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association Conference

Berkeley, CA; February 2019

“Embodied Self-expression and Creative Ways of Knowing: Expressive Arts for Personal Growth and in Community” with Doreen Maller and Albert Wong

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association Conference

Berkeley, CA; March 2019

“Engaging the Introjected “Other” Through Imagination and Multimodal Expressive Arts” with Jay Louie and Lauren Hammond

International Association for the Study of Dreams

Scottsdale, AZ; June 2018

“The Liminal Plane Between Sleep and Awake: Hypnagogia and Creativity” with Naomi Panina Kimmelman

Multidisciplinary Conference on Jungian Psychology: The Spectre of the Other in Jungian Psychology

International Association for Jungian Studies

Cape Town, South Africa; July 2017

“Conversing with Non-Egoic Intelligence through the Mystical Imagination”

Trauma: Experience of Therapy

Institute for Social and Political Psychology National Academy of Pedagogic Sciences

Kyiv, Ukraine; June 2017

“Mask-Making in the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association Conference

Hong Kong; October 2015

“Flowing Downward and Outward: Imagination and the Arts”

International Transpersonal Conference, Alubrat

Salvador, Brazil, September 2015

“Blooming the Imaginal Flower: Mystical Imagination and Creativity”

International Association for the Study of Dreams International Conference

Virginia Beach, VA; June 2015

“Plumbing the Depths: Imaginal Approaches to Exploring Dreams”

California School of Professional Psychology

May 2015; San Francisco, CA

“The Use of Dreams in Clinical Practice”

International Association for the Study of Dreams International Conference

Berkeley, CA; June 2014

“Bridging the Divide: Imagination-Based Tools for Building Relationship with Dreams”

Global Transpersonal Symposium

Palo Alto, CA, February 2014

“Education Panel”

European Transpersonal Association Conference

Chisinau, Moldova; September 2013

“Infinite Potential: Harnessing the Power of the Imagination”

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association Conference

Berkeley, CA; March 2013

“Filling the Sails of Creativity: Internal imagery and the arts”

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association Conference

Berkeley, CA; March 2013

“The Future of IEATA”

European Transpersonal Association Conference

Barcelona, Spain; October 2008

“Shifting Individual and Cultural Goals of Development”

International Association for the Study of Dreams International Conference

Montreal, Canada; July 2008

Visionary Paths Symposium

“Dream as Moral Parable

Affiliations

You mentioned that you have cats. Does that mean you hate dogs?

Of course not! I love dogs. I happen to have cats.

I’ll probably get a dog sooner or later. I’m actually looking forward to it. I’d like a dog that I could hike with!