Cannabis Use Therapy in Oakland, CA

So you’re using cannabis. Friend or foe? Companion or crutch? Maybe both.

As a depth-oriented therapist in Oakland, CA, I work with people who use cannabis—sometimes intentionally, sometimes habitually, sometimes with questions. And always with a story behind it.

Even in California, where marijuana is legal, the stigma lingers. Too many people feel dismissed, misunderstood, or pathologized by mental health professionals when cannabis is part of their life. If that’s been your experience, I want you to know: you’re not alone—and there’s space for your full story here.

Whether cannabis is your medicine of choice, a spiritual ally, or a source of struggle, you deserve a thoughtful, nonjudgmental space to explore your relationship with it.

Medical Marijuana and Mental Health: Honoring the Complexity

Cannabis has been used medicinally for thousands of years to support healing—physical, emotional, and spiritual. For some, it eases anxiety or depression. It may soften the edges of chronic pain, support sleep, reduce nightmares, or help manage the side effects of illness and chemotherapy. Others find it opens the door to creativity, heightened sensation, introspection, and connection with nature or music.

What’s often missed in mainstream mental health care is that cannabis can amplify, not mute, a person’s internal experience. When used intentionally, it can deepen emotional insight and body awareness. Thoughts, feelings, fears, and memories—sometimes long buried—may rise to the surface. In this way, cannabis can act as a kind of gentle psychedelic, helping us access states of consciousness that invite healing or transformation.

If you’re curious about using cannabis this way, you might enjoy my article on the Psychedelic Support Network, here, where I explore this further.

This is something many people don’t anticipate: that cannabis, rather than numbing or blocking emotions, can sometimes bring things closer to the surface. This can be beautiful—but also overwhelming. If you’re someone who’s already highly sensitive or dealing with trauma, this amplification can feel like too much.

Why You Use Marijuana Matters: Tending to the Root, Not Just the Habit

You might reach for cannabis to feel better, even if you don’t always know why. Or maybe you’ve found it helps with specific struggles, such as:

• Anxiety or panic

• Depression or emotional numbness

• PTSD or trauma-related symptoms

• ADHD or difficulty focusing

• Chronic pain or illness

• Insomnia or nightmares

• Cancer, chemotherapy, or palliative care

These are all real, valid reasons to use cannabis. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel okay. For many people, marijuana is one of the few things that helped when nothing else did. You may have found it before you found therapy—or because therapy never quite reached those deeper places.

If you’ve found some relief through cannabis, but want to explore your use more deeply—or more consciously—I’m here to help. Together, we can think about what’s working, what isn’t, and how to tend to the symptoms or needs behind your use.

This isn’t about taking away a coping tool—it’s about understanding why it’s been needed. And what else might be possible.

Therapy for Marijuana Addiction: A Shame-Free Space to Explore Dependency

Sometimes people wonder: “Is this addiction? Am I dependent?” But the word addiction often feels too big—or too small—for what they’re experiencing.

You might not be using all day, every day. You might be highly functional. And still, something doesn’t feel right. You may feel:

• Like you have to use to unwind or sleep

• Irritable or off when you try to take a break

• Like your use is more frequent than you’d like, but you can’t stop

• An inner tension between craving, guilt, and avoidance

Cannabis use doesn’t always fit the classic picture of addiction, but that doesn’t mean it’s not impacting your life. In therapy, we don’t jump to labels—we get curious. We slow things down and explore what this substance is doing for you, and what it may be doing to you.

Depth psychotherapy helps us get underneath the habit to understand the emotional patterns and protective strategies at play. Often, the part of you reaching for cannabis is the same part that’s been holding a lot—and doing the best it can.

Cannabis Use Disorder and the Spectrum of Struggle

Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is a term you may have heard and wondered about. Maybe you’ve Googled it late at night. Maybe you’ve checked off a few of the criteria:

• You’re using more than you intended

• You’ve tried to stop or cut back without success

• It’s affecting your work, relationships, or emotional state

• You need more to feel the same effects

• You feel anxious, foggy, or emotionally dull when not using

But still, part of you might say: “It’s not that bad.”

CUD exists on a spectrum. Many people struggle with cannabis without feeling like “addicts.” You don’t need a formal diagnosis to deserve support. You don’t have to hit rock bottom to reach out.

In our work together, we’ll explore these concerns in a grounded, thoughtful way. We’ll look at your cannabis use in the larger context of your life, your emotions, and your story.

Harm Reduction for Cannabis Use: Meeting You Where You Are

Sometimes the relationship with cannabis becomes complicated.

Maybe you didn’t mean to use it so often, but now you’re finding it hard to stop. Maybe it’s the only way you feel okay. Maybe what once helped now feels foggy, numbing, or necessary.

Cannabis can be comforting—and it can become consuming. If you feel dependent, conflicted, or just curious about whether your use is still serving you, we can explore that with care.

As a harm reduction therapist in Oakland, my approach is nonjudgmental and collaborative. We can work toward:

• Reducing harm or modifying your use

• Clarifying when, how, and why you use

• Exploring whether abstinence might be right for you

• Supporting you in staying grounded and self-aware through it all

You don’t need to have made up your mind about what you want to change. You just need enough curiosity to start a conversation. Together, we’ll look at what’s underneath your use, and what new strategies or supports might help.

Cannabis is not for everyone. It can worsen symptoms in some cases, particularly for young adults or those with a history of psychosis or bipolar disorder. If I believe your use may be causing harm, I’ll be honest—and I’ll help you find the support you need (especially when it includes more than I can offer).

Mindful Cannabis Use Therapy: Deepening the Relationship

Not all cannabis use is problematic. For some, cannabis serves as a creative or spiritual tool. It may support introspection, emotional access, or connection with nature and art. You might even think of it as a plant ally—something that helps you feel more present or open.

If this is your experience, therapy can support you in using cannabis more intentionally. We might explore questions like:

• What states of consciousness does cannabis help you access?

• What emotional or spiritual insights emerge when you use it?

• How can we help you integrate those insights as part of our work together?

• Are there moments when your use starts to shift from sacred to habitual?

Depth psychotherapy offers a container to reflect on these questions—not to judge your use, but to deepen your connection with yourself through it.

This Work Is About You, Not the Weed

Cannabis is complex. So are you.

Whether you’re using it to manage symptoms, explore altered states, or cope with something hard to name, you don’t need to untangle it alone. In therapy, we can hold curiosity about your cannabis use alongside whatever else brought you here—grief, trauma, anxiety, sensitivity, or a longing to feel more alive.

Often, cannabis is one part of a much bigger picture. We’ll explore it in context, not in isolation. We’ll think about what hurts, what’s been missing, and what new ways of being might be possible.

If you’d like support navigating your relationship with cannabis, reach out. I offer cannabis use therapy in Oakland and online throughout California. We’ll think together about what you need to feel more whole, more grounded, and more connected to your own well-being.

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