Alexis Naim

From as early as I can remember, I’ve been interested in stories of struggle and survival. As an adolescent, I devoured autobiographies and wrote short stories that borrowed from themes of self-actualization, purpose, and the quest for happiness and freedom. This interest led me to UC Berkeley and a semester at Oxford University where I studied Virginia Woolf (among others) and what she called “life, truth, spirit. . . the essential thing.” It was in the realm of narrative and consciousness that uncovered one of my greatest passions – the human relationship with ourselves and the collective stories we tell. It became crystal clear to me that I wanted to work with people in the service of creating an inner life of well-being and authenticity. After completing my Masters, I pursued post graduate training in psychodynamic psychotherapy- the unconscious and how we come to bring all that we know and feel into conscious awareness. Soon after, I started my private practice and have been seeing individuals, couples, and families ever since, working with the core values of interconnectedness, mindful awareness, and struggle as it transforms into purpose, meaning, and health. In addition to my private practice, I was proud to serve as a founding clinician at the University of California, San Francisco, in the Intensive Family Therapy Program of the Department of Psychiatry. After years of working at UCSF, I relocated to Los Angeles with my husband and we launched La Maida Institute, an integrative care center focused on promoting wholeness as a foundation for health. In 2019 we turned this vision into La Maida Project, a non-profit dedicated to rewriting the story of mental health. We relocated back to the Bay Area in 2020 and I am cherishing the return home.