Queer and transgender integrative therapist in Oakland San Francisco Bay Area offering in-person and online therapy services for LGBTQ+ adults and adult children of immigrants

About Luca Chang: Inclusive, Integrative Queer & Trans Therapist in Oakland and Online in California

Hi, I’m Luca. I’m an Oakland-based therapist who works with LGBTQ+ adults, trans & non-binary adults, and adult children of immigrant parents.

I know what it’s like to feel restricted by ever-present anxiety and relationship distress that comes from trying to do it all: achieve success, manage other people’s feelings, be perfect, be good.

I grew up learning to excel, to outperform, to show up at the cost of being able to really get to know myself and what I wanted in my life. It took me a long time to accept just how limited I felt.

From this experience, I’ve come to love supporting people who want to let go and unburden themselves from responsibilities they’ve been carrying for too long.

Close-up of wooden surface with rough texture and brown tones

IN THIS MOMENT

I live with several intersecting identities of both privilege and marginalization that deepen my capacity for complexity. I am the child of mixed immigrant / citizen parents, and am mixed race Chinese and White. I move in a mid-size body, and identify as queer and non-binary trans. I use COVID-conscious harm reduction practices in my daily life.

A lifelong learner, I move through the world with wonder and an open heart. Some of my favorite teachers include my loved ones, bodies of water, big theatrical ballads (bless Cynthia Erivo), memoirs about intergenerational healing, and old redwood forests. I look forward to all that I will come to learn and know.

Outside of being a therapist in Oakland, I enjoy playing tennis, powerlifting, being in or near water, walking in the woods, and reading. Like a cat, I love to find a sun spot to bask in (so long as I have enough sun screen!). I am committed to moving my body in ways that are free from weight loss and diet culture.

Sweet on animals, I am the proud papa to a small dog and cat. They are, much to my delight, the best of friends. Their love fills my already-brimming heart.

Small dog sitting on red steps outside a yellow building.

My little loves: Sesame (dog) & Minnow (cat)

Gray and white cat sitting on a bed with a closed door and a plant in the background.
Colorful Chinese lion dance mask with red, black, and green colors, yellow fur, and a pink fringe. In Oakland San Francisco Bay Area and California.

MY PRACTICE VALUES

  • The quality of the therapy relationship itself is one of the most essential components to healing. Within relationships is where we can learn to connect in an intimate, honest, and authentic way. I value co-creating a space with my clients where they learn to feel safe expressing their vulnerability.

    As a relational therapist, this means that I am checking in with you about how our relationship feels between us. I’m attuning to the following:

    Are you present and here with me?

    Do things flow?

    Are there blocks?

    Is some part of me bumping up against some part of you, or vice versa?

    Staying close to our relationship in this way allows us to heal any potential ruptures and address blocks to our connection, thereby supporting your healing.

  • At my Lake Merritt office and online throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California, I am committed to maintaining a practice that is inclusive of diverse identities and experiences. For almost 10 years, I’ve been lucky enough to work with adults and young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

    While my intersecting identities offer me perspective in joining with you, my story is not your story. I trust and respect that you know your world best. I am here as a compassionate guide to help you develop self-trust and leadership to pave your own unique path.

  • As unique, dynamic humans, we all respond differently to therapy approaches. That’s why I use an integrative approach to therapy. I’m a relational therapist who is also trained in:

    Together, we decide which modalities work best for you and your goals. Each of these approaches can be used to support you leaning into your inner guidance, self-leadership, and intuition.

  • I believe that empathy allows us to keep the doors open to self-love, compassion, and kindness. When we are witnessed in our suffering and received with empathy, when we say our hardest truths and the person we are speaking to does not turn away from us, we have more opportunities to experience liberation from our deepest burdens and heal from shame.

  • Your life and vibrancy are not defined by historically racist diagnoses or systemic biases. As a LGBTQ+ affirming, gender affirming, and culturally responsive therapist in Oakland, I invite us to explore the ways that existing oppressive systems impact our wellness and illness. Together we can explore historical ancestral wounds and inherited wisdom for healing. Your full power and resilience are celebrated.

  • None of us are meant to be in our healing work alone. In addition to using the therapy space as a source of ongoing support, I invite community care as an anchor and guide in your healing. We need each other now more than ever.

  • While we are able to provide a sense of perspective that can feel different from getting emotional support from family and friends, I believe it’s important to acknowledge that therapists are not objective. We are not blank slates, nor are we neutral.

    Importantly, what this means is:

    • I will not judge you.

    • I will not appease you to keep you comfortable, especially when you’re feeling stuck.

    • And I will not push you past where you’re ready.

    I have abundant space in me to be with where you are in your healing process, but if I pretend that I’m just a wall to bounce ideas off of, then I’m not doing a very good job at being your therapist.

Stone wall and grassy path with forest in background

IF IT MATTERS

  • The Wright Institute, Berkeley, MA in Counseling Psychology

    University of California, Santa Cruz, BA in Sociology

  • Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), Richmond CA — Practicum at John Swett High School

    Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS), San Francisco CA — Full-time Wellness therapist at George Washington High School, facilitator of a support group for queer and trans youth

    Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC), San Francisco CA — Group clinical consultant for case workers

    Private Practice Associateship with Talia Korenbrot, San Francisco CA

  • Board of Behavioral Sciences, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT #132935

  • Kintsugi Therapist Collective, Embodied Private Practice Cohort #4

    Kintsugi Therapist Collective, Mixed Identity Clinical Alliance

    Student of Sand Chang and Nic Wildes’ Queer & Trans Internal Family Systems Foundations Course for Trans, Nonbinary, and Queer Clinicians

  • California Association of Marriage & Family Therapist (CAMFT)

  • IFS (Internal Family Systems) Institute

    • Level 1 Certified, facilitated by lead trainer Kim Paulus and assistant trainer Sand Chang, first ever QTBIPOC affinity group

    The Embody Lab

    • Somatic EMDR

Being with others while they heal is a gift I hold dear to me.

I love what I do, and feel excited at the possibility of being able to work with you.

LET'S SEE IF WE'RE A GOOD FIT