Tad Davies

Tad Davies

Associate Marriage & Family Therapist #140148

Santa Cruz Office

Medi-Cal provider

Anxiety, depression, listlessness, addiction, challenges in relationship, acute and complex trauma, future pessimism, loneliness, and confusion about how to navigate towards the fulfilling life we want for ourselves are not weird conditions, they are common! And we need not suffer them alone. With some effort, tools, techniques and guidance, improvement is not only possible, but inevitable.

The modern world is complex and bears little resemblance to the simpler environments in which we evolved. Our emotional, mental, and physical systems were acutely tuned to being in nature, finding food, establishing strong relationships with a few people, and avoiding the dangers of the natural environment. But, with our gifts … for better or worse … we turned out to be an incredibly versatile and industrious little thing. Building and changing, building and changing, on and on. It’s not unreasonable, for some part of us, on any given day, to look out our window and ask, how did I get here, and what am I supposed to do with all this?

When the world we live in bears little resemblance to the world of our parents, or even the world of 10-years ago, who’s to teach us? Who’s to guide us into the next iteration? We carry access to the entire world in our pocket, a dopamine Pez dispenser that floods us with contradictory information about how we can find financial security, health, and love. Feeds our psyche a litany of catastrophe and outrage until we look away towards an algorithmic feed of bite-sized videos that know us just well enough to keep us entranced while the life we imagine living loses another hour, another day.

It’s not because we are weak, it’s not because we don’t belong here, and it’s not because it’s hopeless. It’s because it is hard to see it all, and we rarely have someone to honestly and vulnerably explore it with. There is also our baggage and patterns. We all had to survive our childhoods, no matter how that looked, it was an accomplishment that leaves a mark, and sets in motion how we navigate life. When those strategies no longer serve us, we have the power to adapt them.

I work with teens, adults, and seniors using an integrated humanist approach that includes IFS, DBT, Somatic Experiencing, Mindfulness, Attachment Theory, and EMDR. I also work with couples using EFT, NVC, and Imago Dialogues.

Please reach out for a free 15-minute introductory call to ask questions and schedule a session.

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.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
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:
MORNINGS you are Available:
EARLY AFTERNOONS you are Available:
LATE AFTERNOONS you are Available:
EVENINGS you are Available:
Contact Preferences:
This helps us track your inquiry and respond to you quickly.

Therapist/Agency Referrals

Use this HIPAA compliant form to make professional referrals to Shine a Light Counseling Center.
HIPAA Referral Form (for professional use)

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.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
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

facebook icon  Find us on Facebook