Dominique Oster

Dominique Oster

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Santa Cruz Office

Medi-Cal Provider

Therapy isn’t just for those in crisis, and things do not have to be
bad to get better. Just as we all contain multitudes, you are allowed
to be grateful for your life AND want more! More Connection. More
Pleasure. More Joy. I believe that our bodies have wisdom beyond what
our minds may acknowledge, and unlocking the ways our deepest selves
have learned to store and apply our legacies of trauma,
indoctrination, and shame can open the gates to experiencing pleasure
and wholeness in the present.

My name is Dominique Oster, and I provide sex and relationship therapy
for adult individuals (18+) singly and within romantic partnerships
(dyads, triads, and polycules). My passion is passion, and I approach
our work from a feminist, sex-positive, and culturally aware lens.
What this means is that I believe you are the expert on you, that your
desires are valid and undeserving of shame or judgment, and that you
do not exist in a vacuum – your place within our society (along with
all the potential privileges and challenges) are part of the story we
will unravel. Our work is collaborative as we come up with strategies
to meet your goals, and it is an honor to walk beside you as you
implement and process changes as they come.

Areas of Focus:
• Relationships: Communication, patterns of engagement, evolving or
stagnating intimacy, infidelity, , polyamory/ethical nonmonogamy
• Sexuality: Sexual incompatibility, mismatched libido, sexual trauma,
couples with dual-trauma, kink, pleasure and sensation, LGBTQIA+
celebration
• Multicultural: Biracial identity exploration, racial trauma,
interracial/multicultural relationships, BIPOC/AAPI experience
processing, raising multicultural children + positive racial
socialization

Sex Therapy Certification via California Institute of Integral
Studies, completed 2021
Pursuing AASECT certification under supervision of Paula Leech, LMFT, CST, CSTS

To schedule a free consultation, please request me on the Request an Appointment form below.

Request an Appointment

To Request an Appointment at Shine a Light or NPCC, please fill out this form. We respond to inquiries Monday through Friday. All inquiries we receive on the weekends or holidays will be processed the next business day. Thank you for your patience. If you need immediate services, please call 911.

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Your Name
Name of Intended Client
Date of Birth (of the intended client)
Use the drop down menu to select your nearest location.
Of whoever is paying for therapy
Use the drop-down menu to select your insurance coverage.
Use the drop-down menu to select the type of counseling you want.
Use the drop-down menu to indicate if you have seen a therapist with us previously.
Issues You Want Help With:
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EVENINGS you are Available:
Contact Preferences:
This helps us track your inquiry and respond to you quickly.

Agency Inquiries

This form is for agency information. If you want information about counseling for yourself or your family, use the other form. Thank you.

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Name
This form is for agency information. If you want information about counseling for yourself or your family, use the other form. Thank you.

New Office in San Francisco!

Shine a Light Counseling Center is please to merge with New Perspectives Center for Counseling. NPCC has been serving the San Francisco community for thirty years. Now NPCC is transitioning to become the San Francisco site for Shine a Light. NPCC will retain its name, character and history. For information about NPCC or counseling in San Francisco:

 

New Perspectives Center for Counseling (link)

Emergency Contact

Shine a Light does not provide crisis services. If you have a mental health emergency, call 988 or 911. Or  click here  for more Crisis Resources

Telephone Contact

You can call Shine a Light at 831-996-1222, but we encourage you to use the email forms to the left. If you call, please leave the following:

  • Phone number
  • Preferred location
  • Best times to meet
  • Issue you want help with
  • What insurance you have (if any)

FAX us at: 831-417-0443

Good Faith Estimate

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your therapy sessions will cost. Your fee will be set according to a sliding scale, in collaboration with your therapist, prior to your first counseling session. Total costs depend upon the number of sessions you choose to utilize.

If you have private health insurance and we are not in-network with your plan, please be aware that your costs for therapy may be less by using an in-network provider. This will depend upon your plan's deductible amounts and co-payments. In some cases, counseling at Shine a Light is less costly than using private insurance.

If you hope to use "out of network" benefits through your private insurance, please be aware that many plans will not reimburse for services provided by trainees. Please request an Associate level therapists for out-of-network billing.

Click here to download a flyer for

Shine a Light Counseling Center

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