Cannabis-Friendly and Marijuana Use Therapy

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

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.

Why You Use Marijuana Matters

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

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.

Harm Reduction Therapy for Cannabis Use

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

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.

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.

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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