Nicolette Sweeney Willard
Nicolette Sweeney Willard

Welcome! You can call me Nico.

I am a San Francisco Psychotherapist and Brooklyn native brought to San Francisco by a quest for love and personal growth over one decade ago. My career path has taken many twists and turns including fashion designer, artist, hip-hop dance teacher meets life-skills counselor to couples counselor and psychotherapist.

Raised as Buddhist, my life has been shaped by the philosophy that we struggle in life so that we may develop compassion, help one another overcome suffering and reach our highest potential. Through my own non-linear journey, I can truly say that I have found my passion helping others discover their own path for transformation.

My work as a “helper” includes 22 years of spiritual guidance counseling and 8 years of therapeutic mentoring of underserved, marginalized teens using the arts. Since 2010, I have worked in a clinical capacity providing individual, couples and family therapy in multi-cultural communities.

To read more about me, you can click here.

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Me, Myself & Us

When we sit down together for your counseling session, my approach is direct and playful. Since most people spend a while deciding whether or not to seek out help with a counselor or couples therapist, you have most likely thought yourself in circles around the problem(s) at hand.

Does all that thinking send you spiraling out and anxious, your inner-critic having a field day?

Your painful feelings do not define you or mean you are doing something wrong. They are a message that something important needs attention. Often times the thoughts and actions leading to your distress were your best attempts at resolving your problem. The trouble is that they are probably stemming from emotions that you may not recognize or fully understand.

In our sessions I draw from somatic, mindfulness-based, experiential approaches - such as: EMDR, DBT, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, etc. - to connect with whats really going on in there, learn to tolerate and regulate intense emotions and communicate authentically and effectively. Change happens in the here and now, not within our old narratives.