Courtenay Houk, MA, AMFT (she/they)
My name is Courtenay (pronounced "Court-Nee") and I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) specializing in somatic and relational psychotherapy. I earned my clinical MA degree in Counseling Psychology & Somatic Psychotherapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco.
My approach is informed by Formative Psychology as well as principles of Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT). My practice is mostly telehealth, allowing me to support a diverse range of clients, and I am currently starting to soft-transition back to some in-person work.
In addition to working in private practice internship, I am also currently a PhD student in Integral, Transpersonal, and Somatic Psychology (ITPS) at CIIS, where I am focusing my research on Third Culture Kids (TCKs)* and relationships. I also hold a BLA degree in a self-designed major on verbal and nonverbal communication, with a specialization. in Mandarin Chinese, from Bennington College in Vermont. Additionally, I hold two Mandarin Chinese Language Certificates, one from Xiamen University in Fujian Province, China and one from Middlebury College in Vermont.
I am a seventh-generation Pennsylvania-Deitsch, queer, femme who grew up as a TCK, living in China and the Navajo Nation during my formative years, among other places. Due to these experiences, I am no stranger to the intersections of language, culture, identity, transition, relationships, and somatic embodiment. I take joy in supporting my clients with exploring and integrating layers of identity and experience.
I am supervised by Christina Loeffel, LMFT #29127 and Aaron Hagaman, LMFT #52152.
*Third Culture Adults or ATCKs (Adult Third Culture Kids) are individuals who 1) grew up with high mobility childhoods and 2) lived in 2+ cultures that are outside of the parents' passport country or culture, including American Indian Reservations and Territories.
NOTE: This is not to be confused with cross-cultural or bi-cultural experience and identity, which is often conflated with the concept of having a "Third Culture", however, TCK experience is distinctly different due to the frequency of residential moves.
Clinical Training
- Trainee / Associate MFT: I started my clinical training at CSP in San Francisco, California where I supported adult individuals (18+) and couples.
- Frequently supported populations: LGBTQIA+, nonbinary couples and individuals, adult children of alcoholic, narcissistic, or emotionally immature parents, and first-generation individuals.
August 2022 - June 2023: San Rafael High School - Wellness Center, San Rafael, CA
- Associate MFT: I worked part-time at SRHS in San Rafael, California, in their Wellness Center as a student counselor, where I supported a diverse population of adolescents.
- Frequently supported populations: LGBTQIA+, nonbinary, BIPOC, Latinx, and first-generation adolescents.
January 2020 - current: Center for Mindful Psychotherapy (CMP), San Francisco, CA
Associate MFT: I am employed by CMP in San Francisco, California where I support adult individuals and couples in private practice internship.
- Frequently supported populations: LGBTQIA+, nonbinary, and polyamorous/CNM couples and individuals; adult children of alcoholic, narcissistic, or emotionally immature parents; first-generation individuals; adults who grew up with high-mobility childhoods (such as TCKs); and individuals who grew up in/or left a socially conservative religion.
Please click here to read more about my work, or contact me to see how I can help.
Trainings & Workshops
• Formative Psychology Practice Group with Christina Loeffel, LMFT (June 2019 – present)
• Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)
- Level 1 : January 2023 - April 2023
- Level 2: starting in August 2023
• Introduction to EFT/Tapping for Therapists with Lorna Minewiser, PhD (May 2023)
• Conversations in Formative Psychology® International Class with Leila Cohn (March 2021 – March 2022)
• Formative Workshop with Aaron Hagaman, LMFT (November 2020)
• Embodied Touch Workshop with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (September 2019-February 2020)
• A Workshop with Esther Perel: Exploring Modern Relationships (December 2019)
• Identity Psychology Practice Group with Peter Wright, LMFT (August 2019 - November 2019)
• A Workshop with Bessel van der Kolk: The Body Keeps Score (September 2019)
• Nutrition for Mental Health Training with Anne Procyk via PESI (May 2019)
• Inclusive Sexual Attitude Reassessment Workshop with Bianca Laureano (April 2019)
• Art of Listening Couple's Workshop with Gal Szekely, LMFT (November 2018)
• Process Work Practice Group with Bill Say (October - November 2018)
• Workshop on Trauma with Peter Levine (April 2018)
• A Thousand Papercuts: Workshop on Micro-aggressions with Rae Johnson (April 2018)