Laina James

Laina James

Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #114210

Santa Cruz Office

Medi-Cal Provider

Just as disease in the body usually stems from some sort of systemic imbalance, dis-ease in our relationships, our hearts and minds, and our day-to-day experience often stems from imbalance as well. My approach will focus on helping you to achieve more balance in yourself and in your relationships, in order to experience more of what you want (joy? freedom? pleasure? security? consistency? connection? aliveness? adventure? trust? peace?) and less of what you don’t want. I work well with clients who are motivated, open-minded, and looking for the help of a compassionate guide rather than an expert who will “fix” things for them.
I work with a variety of issues, including anxiety, indecision, low self esteem, codependency, depression, lack of purpose, and stifled creativity, to name a few. I’m also passionate about working with individuals and partners to explore their sexuality, addressing sexual challenges (ex. low/high libido) and articulating desires. I am kink and poly friendly.
I especially enjoy working with clients somatically (noticing what’s happening in the physical body) as a way to identify, gauge, track and explore emotions, triggers and memories. Meeting outdoors in a nearby nature spot is also an option if you’re in Santa Cruz. If you think that we might work well together, please reach out. I look forward to meeting you!

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Request an Appointment

To Request an Appointment at Shine a Light or NPCC, please fill out this form. Please note *We respond to inquiries Monday through Friday 8AM to 8PM. All inquiries we receive on the weekends or holidays will be processed the next business day. Thank you for your patience.

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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

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 medical care 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, please be aware that your costs for therapy may be less by using an in-network provider for your insurance company. 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 pre-licensed therapists (most of our staff).

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