About

Curiosity About Life’s Mysteries Led Me To Become A Therapist

A student of the human condition, I’ve always been awed by the strength of the human spirit to find meaning amidst great suffering and by the power of the imagination for healing and transformation.

My calling began when I discovered the truth of Leonard Cohen’s words, “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” I found that when we bring light and compassion to our cracked and wounded places not only can we heal but we can find our true strength, uniqueness, and wholeness. Our light becomes free to shine.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated into action. And because there is only one of you in all time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost, the world will not have it.” — Martha Graham

My personal journey has been influenced by C.G. Jung’s idea of individuation as the process of becoming one’s true self. He emphasized an organizing center of the personality that guides and directs one’s life toward wholeness, meaning, and creativity.

As a trauma-informed therapist my specialty is helping people move from pain and suffering to growth and development. Our work together aims to relieve their suffering and identify what is blocking them from living fuller and richer lives.

Often the very reasons for entering work together become doorways to personal and spiritual growth. After achieving their initial goals many people find joy in discovering deeper parts of themselves that emerge as allies to living with more passion, creativity, and meaning.

It is a privilege to be able to work with people in such deep ways and to help them release and express their unique creative life force.

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are.

— C. G. Jung

Training And Experience

  • Trauma-informed Jungian and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist in private practice from 1996 to the present.

  • Two-year predoctoral internship at the Whitney Clinic at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco providing Jungian and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy to a wide range of individuals interested in longer-term depth psychotherapy.

  • One-year internship at Marin Community Mental Health providing brief therapy and crisis intervention to children with severe emotional and mental health conditions.

  • Four-year internship at the Community Institute for Psychotherapy providing long-term psychodynamic and psychoanalytically-informed therapy to a variety of individuals, couples, and children at various levels of functioning.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialty in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2005

  • MA. in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from the University of San Francisco, 1992.

  • B.S. in Business Administration from Spring Hill College.

Licenses & Certifications

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, License #33448

  • Three Year Dream Tending Certificates I, II & III

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapist, Level 1

  • Certified EMDR Therapist, specializing in the treatment of trauma

Consultation / Supervision

  • Current CIP Director of Dreams: A Portal to the Source Program

  • Clinical Supervisor for the Community Institute for Psychotherapy for 12 years. I continue to provide consultation to other therapists.

Interests

I have a background in depth psychology with its foundation in myth, literature, poetry, art, philosophy, and comparative spiritual traditions. I especially love working with dreams and fairy tales. Additionally, I’ve explored various meditative practices and alternative healing methods and have a background in shamanism. I love animals and have volunteered in a pet loss support group. These interests provide a wide container for my clinical work.

Professional Affiliations

  • California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)

  • San Francisco Chapter, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (SF CAMFT)

  • International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD)

  • The Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California (PINK)

  • EMDR International Association (EMDRIA)

The creative urge lives and grows like a tree in the earth from which it draws its nourishment. We would do well to think of the creative process as a living thing implanted in the human psyche.

— C. G. Jung

Hollie Hannan is a licensed therapist in San Francisco, California, specializing in the treatment of trauma.