About Me

A woman with short dark hair, glasses, and earrings, smiling outdoors with a background of blurred green foliage.

Clients sometimes ask me how I became a couples therapist. The truth is, I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a therapist. 

I became a therapist after working in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors for many years. After having children and taking time to reassess my professional life and goals, I realized that I was ready for a career change. 

I decided to go back to school to study Counseling Psychology, a field that had always intrigued me. When I graduated and started working in clinical settings, I was immediately drawn to working with couples and families. It turned out that understanding and improving the dynamics and roles of relationships was a great fit for my personality and interests. 

If you get the sense I’d be a good fit, please get in touch →

What clients say

  • "I highly recommend Karen. She is experienced working with couples around all sorts of issues, and is warm, grounded and practical. She is smart and insightful, and her clarity helped us sort through some very thorny issues when we went through a difficult period with our marriage."

  • "Karen worked with me and my husband around our long-term relationship issues including communication patterns, parenting challenges, and helping us to figure out what kind of relationship we envision for our future. Karen is direct and down to earth."

  • "My husband and I have worked with Karen through some tough issues around conflict and communication. She is warm and engaging, and had some really good insights into our patterns of behavior. She challenged me to see my own patterns as well, and we both felt really understood by her."

  • "I recommend Karen Levine for couples counseling. She has a gentle and warm style. She is also practical, and offers insight as well as strategies you can actually use to make things better."

*Client names are not included to maintain confidentiality.

If you’re curious about my professional background:

  • I have a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature and Women's Studies from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

  • I also have an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. 

  • After graduate school, I completed the Psychotherapy Institute's two-year postgraduate program in relational depth psychotherapy, and have also trained at Berkeley Mental Health, the Bay Area Family Institute of Training, and Jewish Family & Children's Services of the East Bay. 

  • My additional advanced training and certification in the Gottman Method of couples therapy allows me to offer practical interventions that are based on extensive research about what makes relationships successful. 

  • I’m also experienced working with clients who identify as neurodiverse, introverted, or highly sensitive. 

Close-up of white cherry blossoms on a branch with a blue sky in the background and a swirl effect in the foreground.

Take the next step

Schedule a free 20-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit.

Get in touch →