Dr. Brett Gaynor is a clinical psychologist (License: PSY29574) based in Berkeley and Walnut Creek, California. She specializes in helping youth, parents, and adults navigate trauma, emotional challenges, and life transitions through evidence-based, compassionate care.

Click here to open Dr. Gaynor's private practice website.

Dr. Gaynor’s therapeutic approach emphasizes deep, lasting transformation. She creates a safe, trusting environment where clients can explore their inner resilience, reconnect with their emotions, and build meaningful change that extends beyond the therapy room. She assists clients with emotional development, family dynamics, and processing past experiences to promote understanding, relationships, and progress.

A core belief guiding Dr. Gaynor’s practice is that trauma does not exist in isolation — it echoes across generations and life stages. By addressing trauma within and between youth, parents, and adults, her work supports the emotional ecosystem of families and communities. This integrative, developmentally attuned approach is essential to a healthy psychology practice: one that prioritizes prevention, promotes healing at every age, and lays the groundwork for long-term mental wellness.

In addition to individual therapy for both youth and adults, Dr. Gaynor works with parents and children together, a unique practice offering. Her practice integrates Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS), with a focus on trauma, attachment, and resilience.

Dr. Gaynor holds a Psy.D. from Alliant International University and brings both clinical expertise and a warm, attuned presence to her work. She invites clients to pause, reflect, and reimagine what’s possible — living fully and healing deeply.

Services for Children, Adolescents and Parents

Dr. Brett Gaynor offers a compassionate and developmentally attuned approach to child therapy, integrating evidence-based modalities to support both children and their caregivers. A cornerstone of her practice is Child-Centered Play Therapy and Theraplay: an interactive, play-based therapy focusing on strengthening the parent-child bond. Dr. Gaynor's integrative approach not only addresses the individual needs of the child but also involves caregivers in the healing process, promoting lasting change within the family system.

Areas of therapeutic focus for children, adolescents and parents

• Mental health concerns: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem
• Trauma, grief, and adjustment to difficult transitions: divorce, loss, traumatic events, bullying, medical issues
• Behavioral issues: school refusal, opposition, tantrums, impulsivity
• Identity and academic challenges
• Self-harm or suicidal thoughts

Services for Adults

Dr. Brett Gaynor offers tailored therapy services that are designed to support meaningful change that extends beyond the therapy room. Specializing in attachment and trauma work, including EMDR therapy, Dr. Gaynor partners with clients to create personalized pathways to improving overall health and thriving. Her approach integrates psychological and body-based strategies to help clients reconnect with their emotions, bodies, and lives, fostering a sense of balance and empowerment.

Areas of therapeutic focus for adults

• Reducing physical symptoms of stress and trauma
• Processing grief or loss
• Breaking free from negative beliefs
• Reclaiming confidence
• Improving relationships and exploring internal conflicts
• Finding clarity and restoring balance

Current Professional Affiliations

• Bay Area Psychological Association
• EMDRIA