MEET THE TEAM
Carmelinda Mann, Ph.D., Clinical Supervisor
Dr. Carmelinda Mann is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with 20 years years of clinical experience.
I graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a master's degree and a doctorate in Clinical Developmental Psychology. I honed my family therapy skills while working for the Family Institute in Richmond, CA, where I provided in-home therapy for families and couples. I've worked in community mental health, a college counseling center, in public schools providing therapy and assessment, for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center conducting assessment and research, a psychiatric hospital, family therapy clinics, and private practice.
I have been working in private practice for 13 years, helping individuals, couples, and families overcome obstacles and create more fulfilled and meaningful lives.
In 2020, I co-founded the Tree of Life Family Wellness Center, which has become the Tree of LIfe Wellness Collective. The Collective offers sliding scale therapy to families in need while providing training opportunities for clinical psychology doctoral students.
Sherna Perez, LCSW, Clinical Supervisor
I am a social worker practicing in Oakland. I spent the first 20 years of my career in public service first as a Child Welfare Worker, School based therapist and the last 10 years as a Family Court Mediator. I work with families in the context of separation and divorce. My focus is on attachment and rebuilding family bounds. I primarily use Emotional Focused Therapy modality and attachment theory to guide my work. Additionally, I work with couples experiencing distress in the relationship. My passion is couples and helping them find new ways of relating, caring for one another and becoming available and responsive to their partner.
Shannon Bernsten, Psychological Associate
My name is Shannon, and I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am currently providing psychotherapy services to adolescents, adults, and couples. I hold a Master's degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, and trained for a year in the country's only university affiliated Gestalt therapy clinic, Church Street Integral Counseling Center. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies, and I worked in childcare and education for over a decade before becoming a therapist. I also previously worked in a resource center providing support for teens and young adults experiencing sexual harm and dating abuse.
My work as a therapist is rooted in the belief that humans are incredibly resilient, and I hold deep trust in each person's unique path towards a full life. Modalities my work draws upon include gestalt, relational, somatic, psychodynamic, trauma informed, liberation, emotionally focused, and strengths based psychology. I believe my role as a therapist is to be a collaborator and companion in my clients journeys towards authenticity and joy. I approach my practice with warmth, presence, honesty, and respect. I invite my kind, quirky, and calm personality into the therapy space. I have an innate ability to listen deeply, to help clients see their unique gifts, and gently challenge my clients to examine belief systems, stories, and barriers that may be keeping them stuck.
Adriana Costa, Psychological Associate
My name is Adriana and I am a Psychological Associate at Tree of Life Wellness Collective. I currently provide individual therapy to children, adolescents and adults as well as family and couple’s therapy. I hold a doctorate in clinical psychology from the Wright Institute and have been providing clinical services for over six years. I have worked with adolescents, adults and families in various settings, including in schools, community mental health, private practice and juvenile detention facilities.
My goal as a therapist is to accompany you in your healing journey as you rewrite the next chapter of your story into one that feels authentically your own. In my approach I draw primarily from psychodynamic, relational and narrative techniques while looking through a social-justice and trauma-informed lens. I strongly believe in the reparative and healing powers of a collaborative therapeutic relationship that meets one’s unique needs. As such, I will provide you with a space that is warm, accepting, and free of judgement, encouraging you to come in exactly as you are. I aim to approach each therapeutic encounter with curiosity and to view you as the expert of your own life and experiences. My approach is strengths-based, meaning we will work together to help you harness your pre-existing strengths and apply them in your relationships and all other areas of your life
Henry Jacobson, Psychological Associate
I’m Henry, a Clinical Psychologist and Psychological Associate with Tree of Life Wellness Collective. I work with adult individuals, families, couples, and adolescents. I've been working
with the Tree of Life community since 2022 and am excited to continue my journey with Tree of Life as a clinician and world citizen. My theoretical orientation is towards a psychodynamic and relationally focused practice that emphasizes trauma-informed care and a multidisciplinary approach. In general, I am drawn to the creative aspects of psychodynamic and relational work and the opportunity to pull from a vast resource of theoretical threads in weaving thoughtfully
and inclusively formulated approaches for the clients I work with. Along with depth work, I also integrate parts work, EMDR, somatic therapies and substance use counseling to augment treatment generally, and trauma-informed approaches where appropriate. I’m also interested in liberatory processes that involve client and therapist in dialectical exploration of their intergenerational and cultural histories as holding environments and opportunities for exploration and relationship. My dissertation research investigated the topic of parental disclosure of an autism diagnosis to a child. In seeking guiding principles for disclosure, the study was contextualized through the principles of neuro-affirmation, and the disability rights and neurodiversity movements.
Office Manager and Intake Coordinator
Jamie (pronouns they/them) is the office manager and intake coordinator for Tree of Life Family Wellness Center. They are a former house counselor with over five years experience working directly with DSS and DMH adolescent clients and families to aid in rehabilitation and family reunification, as well as ten plus years in administrative support for mental health professionals. They previously worked for St. Mary's Center, a full-spectrum nonprofit organization which provides essential services to improve the quality of life for at-risk seniors and preschoolers in the Bay Area. Jamie is originally from central Massachusetts and currently lives in West Oakland with their partner and their cat Simone.