Shai Lavie, MFT
Shai Lavie, MFT
Embodied Psychotherapy and Transformational Groups
Bio
Bio
Shai Lavie, M.A., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, works with adults, adolescents, and families in private practice in San Anselmo, California. He got his Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 1995, and received his MFT license in 1999.
Shai is certified in the Hakomi Method of mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and is a Certified Hakomi Trainer on the faculty of the Hakomi Institute of California (see www.hakomicalifornia.com). He is also certified in the Somatic Experiencing method of working with trauma, developed by Peter Levine. Shai has served as adjunct professor at Sofia University (formerly the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology), and has also taught occasionally at John F. Kennedy University and at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Shai has also served on the faculty of the Marin Mindfulness Institute, teaching professionals about using mindfulness with adolescents.
For over 10 years, Shai led therapeutic groups in Marin County and San Francisco schools. He also led over a dozen wilderness Rites of Passage programs for youth through Wilderness Reflections (see www.wildernessreflections.com), Stepping Stones Project, and The Marin School. He is certified as a Wilderness First Responder.
Shai has been practicing Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. For many years beginning in 2001, Shai taught meditation in the Teen and Family Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center (see www.spiritrock.org).
Shai has done psychotherapy trainings for therapists at Family Service Agency, California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), Apple Family Works, New Perspectives/Bay Area Community Resources, JFK Counseling Center, Community Institute for Psychotherapy, various chapters of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Aldea Treatment Services, Dominican College, Chapman University, Holos Institute, and Mt. Diablo Unified School District. He has spoken to parent groups at Parent University (Marin County Office of Education), Mill Valley Middle School, San Rafael High School, Drake High School, Branson School, the Bay School, and Marin Academy.
Please look for articles from Shai Lavie in the September/October 2011 issue of Psychotherapy Networker (“In Search of a Lost Self”) and in the September/October 2011 issue of The Therapist (“Mindfulness-Based Family Therapy”). These articles can be found on the Hakomi Institute website. Please also look for Shai's chapter ("Experiments in Mindfulness") in the new book: Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice (W.W. Norton, 2015), which can be ordered here. Shai's newest article, "Held Experience: Using Mindfulness in Psychotherapy to Facilitate Deeper Psychological Repair" was published in the Fall 2015 issue of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal.
Shai lives in Fairfax, California with his wife and daughter. He loves wilderness hiking, paddle boarding, climbing, frisbee, and music.