Daniel Lesny, M.A.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Berkeley Office
510/527-2100
Daniel Lesny, MA, MFT, is the Clinical Training Supervisor at the Center and has primary responsibility for the Center's intern training program. He has been a staff therapist at the Center since 1982 and specializes in recovery and inner child issues. He currently works with individuals, couples, and families and also facilitates three "Healing the Inner Child" therapy groups at the Center. Daniel also is an Adjunct Faculty member of John F. Kennedy University's Graduate School of Holistic Studies. He teaches courses in Marriage and Family Counseling, as well as the Couple and Family Case Seminar at the Pleasant Hill campus.
At the Center for Creative Growth, Daniel provides expert and professional counseling with a specialty in these areas:
- Self-Esteem, Self-Acceptance, and Self-Love Creating and Maintaining Intimacy
- Communication and Boundary-setting Skills
- Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors
- Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families
- Grief, Loss and Transitions
- Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Issues
- Exploration of Personal Purpose and Spiritual Growth
What Daniel Says About Being A Therapist
"The magic of psychotherapy comes when we explore together the layers of your experience. When you are mirrored -- really mirrored -- with our mutual compassion, our mutual intelligence, and our mutual creativity, healing can happen. Then your next step appears to you. Participating in all this is a great joy to me."
A Demonstrated Record of Professional Excellence
Trained by the John Bradshaw Center in state-of-the-art counseling methods pioneered and popularized by John Bradshaw.
Ongoing training in today's most effective and innovative therapy methods including Psychodrama, Guided Imagery and Hypnosis, Assertiveness Training, and others.
California-licensed therapist since 1984.
Adjunct Faculty, JFK University Graduate School of Holistic Studies (2006 - present).
Graduate School Instructor at JFK University (1981-86).
Master's Degrees in Clinical and Transpersonal Psychology, JFK University, 1983
Clinical Member, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
What Daniel's Clients Say About Him
"Daniel is incredibly wonderful; I can't describe adequately his skill, compassion, and perceptiveness...I feel that he gave me and my group members tremendous love. And he modelled for us, in so many ways, the skills that we all needed to learn. He created a safe and encouraging environment -- one that was playful, encouraging, and spiritual at the same time -- just like Daniel. He is real."
"Daniel is a very caring person and he made the environment feel very safe and protected from the beginning. He was very personable and genuine, which made it easy to trust him and the process he was guiding us through."
"I thought Daniel was great: kind, intelligent, and so able to be perceptive, fair, and clear. Also, his sense of humor really helped."
"Daniel was a very skilled facilitator and handled each person with genuine care. I always felt he understood my pain, even when I couldn't express it."
"Daniel truly was a wonderful therapist. So articulately could he express meanings of issues in depth, color, compassion, and understanding."
"I'm impressed with Daniel's ability to honestly communicate his feelings. His words and body language reflected his mood. He didn't say one thing and his body express otherwise. I needed to know men can be honest and what that looks like. I also valued Daniel's ability to listen and hear me and his ability to play on a child's level with my (inner) child. When I'm heard, I feel visible."
"I found Daniel to be an exceptionally skilled and sensitive therapist in facilitating change with care...I was very happy with his facilitation and felt his love and commitment to excellence."
What People Say They Gained From Their Therapy with Daniel
"I learned a new language, a new way to listen and talk, both to myself and others. A permanent skill."
"I feel I have awakened to the influences I grew up with."
"Daniel acknowledged me and my abuse; it will help me the rest of my life."
"I got in touch with my past pain and was able to acknowledge that I was abused as a child...I learned about my feelings and actions in my current relationship and will have a more healthy one now."
"Freedom from a lot of rage...more days with joy and fewer with depression."
"Increased ability to set boundaries and connection with my inner child. I got myself back!"
