About

Lori Roniger, LMFT

About Me

I’ve had a lifelong interest in psychology and how people feel and relate to each other. I like to ask questions to gain deeper understanding.

I'm a former journalist and have experienced making big changes. As a young adult, I moved to the Bay Area from my home of the New York City area to study journalism, seeking to feel more free to be myself.

The Bay Area sex-positive community became my natural home, composed of people with the experience of liminality and open to viewing others outside of binaries. I’ve since gained experience as a wife in a marriage both conventional and unconventional, in nonmonogamous relationships, raising kids in a polyamorous household, and taking care of elderly family members.

Throughout my life, I’ve found that change is sometimes what’s needed, while at other times, digging in and exploring my experience as a human and an intimate partner is the thing.

My Style

During therapy sessions, I encourage clients to get out of their heads and become more mindful of their present moment experience. I know what it’s like to be in my head, and I like to share tools for shifting that, pulling from my training in Gestalt therapy, Hakomi, and working with couples somatically. I may lead us in a meditation or taking a few breaths, suggest an interactive game of sensory awareness, or ask about what’s currently happening in your body. I also believe in the power of movement and being in nature for shifting our experience.

I find relationships and sexuality endlessly fascinating. (While growing up, I would sneak listening to Dr. Ruth Westheimer on the radio late at night.) With training in couples therapy and sex therapy, I bring curiosity and open-mindedness to my work, seeking to peel back the layers so that we can better understand your experience and challenges and work towards the changes that you want.

I believe that our connections with other people are vitally important and can impact each other, including our experience growing up in our families of origin, our multifaceted social location, and present relationships with intimate partners, friends, and colleagues.

Bright therapy office with a gray sofa, accent chair, soft lighting, and large windows creating a calm, welcoming space.

My Professional Background

My academic path to becoming a therapist began when I majored in psychology and English as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After that, I decided to focus on writing and communications, earning a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and working as a healthcare journalist.

I later circled back to focusing on psychology, seeking work that felt meaningful after having gained more life experience. I completed a master’s degree at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in integral counseling psychology and the Sex Therapy Certificate program at CIIS.

My Clients

Clients with whom I work well tend to be curious about themselves and other people, as well as relationships and sexuality. They may be experiencing a period of turmoil or difficulty and seeking to create a shift. They may want to explore aspects of their own relationships or sexuality or work through disconnection or a rupture of trust with a partner. They may be people who live outside the box and are seeking a therapist who understands that.

Education

California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), Master of Arts in Integral Counseling Psychology
University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Master of Journalism
University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology

Certifications and Trainings

Sex Therapy Certificate program, California Institute of Integral Studies, Completion of Sex Therapy Certificate
Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychology, Completion of Professional Training Level 1
Love Made Simple Couples Therapy Training, including somatic, mindfulness, and experiential components
Embodied Relational Sex Therapy Training, An integrative, neurobiologically-supported Gestalt approach to sexual health, healing, and pleasure taught by psychotherapist and sex therapist Stella Resnick, PhD
The Dos and Don’ts of Counseling Neurodivergent Clients: A Trauma-Informed Somatic Approach to Autism and ADHD

Professional Memberships

AASECT (American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists)
Bay Area Open Minds (psychotherapists affirming sexual, relational, and gender diversity as natural expressions of the human experience)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
San Francisco chapter of CAMFT
Gaylesta, the Psychotherapist Association for Gender & Sexual Diversity
Jewish Therapist Collective

Pre-licensure Training

Church Street Integral Counseling Center, Practicum and Associateship at this Gestalt-focused clinic
Bay Area Gestalt Institute, Associateship at this Gestalt-focused psychotherapy collective
The Couples Center, Associateship and training in working somatically with couples
San Francisco Marriage and Couples Center, Associateship and training in working with couples

Additional Experience

Teaching Assistant, Couple Counseling course in the Somatic Psychology Master of Arts in Counseling program, California Institute of Integral Studies