Make an Appointment: (707) 529-3021 |   s.machado.phd@gmail.com

s.machado.phd@gmail.com | (707) 529-3021
Contact

About Dr. Machado

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My Credentials

Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Saybrook University

MA in Counseling, Sonoma State University

MA in Clinical Psychology, Saybrook University

MA in Jungian Depth Psychology, Sonoma State University

Licensed Psychologist PSY25053

LENS Neurofeedback Practitioner

HPN Neurofeedback Practitioner

Othmer Method Neurofeedback Trained Clinician

Board Certification in Neurofeedback in Progress

Board Certification in Biofeedback in Progress

Nearly 20 years of experience working in numerous settings with children, adolescents, adults, and elders

Clinical Training

I have advanced training in both time-tested and evidence-based approaches, including:

  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
  • Attachment-Focused Psychotherapy
  • Jungian Psychotherapy
  • Focusing Oriented Therapy
  • Emotion-Focused Individual Therapy
  • Relational Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
  • Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy
  • Expressive Arts
  • EMDR
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapies
  • Emotion Freedom Technique
  • Matrix Reimprinting
  • Sandplay and Sandtray Therapies
Professional Memberships

American Psychological Association, Member

APA Division 32 Humanistic Psychology, Member

APA Division 56 Trauma Psychology, Member

American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, Member

Redwood Psychological Association, Member

Saybrook University Alumni Association

Mental Health Provider for Psychology Today

Publications

Machado, S. (in progress). Faggot speaks again: A phenomenological collage inquiry into the experience of homophobia. 

Machado, S. (in progress). Bodymapping in counselor professional development and supervision. 

Machado, S. (in press). The experience of LGBTQ+ identity as spiritual identity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology. 

Machado, S. (2020). Jungian psychotherapy for anxiety and OCD. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 0(00), 1-32. doi: 10.1177/0022167820926828

Machado, S. (2020). I surrender to the sacred ways and walk the inner places: Donovan’s poem. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(10), 1244-1247. doi: 10.1177/1077800419898488

Machado, S. (2019). Interpretive poetry and the family coming out crisis. Qualitative Inquiry, 25(9-10), 851-861. doi: 10.1177/1077800418786317

Machado, S. (2016). Faggot speaks: A poetic inquiry into antigay mistreatment and sexual prejudice. Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, 1(1), 65-87.

Machado, S. (2015). Faith, family, & coming out: Andrew’s poem. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 28(3), 1-9. doi: 10.1080/08893675.2015.1051301

Machado, S. (2015). The poetics of parent-son encounters following negative parental reactions to the disclosure of gay identity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 55(1), 30-52. doi: 10.1177/0022167814522911

Machado, S. (2010). The existential dimensions of surviving HIV: The experience of gay long-term survivors. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 52(1), 6-29. doi: 10.1177/0022167810389049

Learn About My Practice

Psychologist in Petaluma


Based on years of training and experience, and my enduring belief in the body and mind’s restorative capacities, I have developed an effective approach that integrates time-tested, evidence-based, and cutting-edge methods that help you resolve the patterns that keep you stuck, cultivate self-acceptance and meaning, reconnect with lost parts of yourself, and overcome painful symptoms. I offer a safe, confidential space in which you learn the skills you need to loosen the grip of old wounds and and nervous system dysregulation to uncover the possibility of the life you envision.

At times I have staff (i.e., MFT associates and psychological associates) working in my practice under my supervision. They provide individual psychotherapy to clients focused on the same clinical issues and drawing from the same set of approaches.

Don’t wait any longer. Take the next step and contact me to schedule an appointment.

Areas of Expertise

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become . . . ”

– C. G. Jung


Sil Machado, Ph.D.

Psychotherapy & Neurofeedback in Petaluma

Welcome. My name is Sil Machado (he/his/him). Over the last 17 years, I have worked with children, adolescents, adults, elders and couples providing counseling, psychotherapy, neurofeedback, supervision, and consultation services in non-profit, public health, community mental health, medical, and private practice settings.

As a psychotherapist, neurotherapist, and certified clinical trauma professional, I consider it a privilege to cultivate meaningful, collaborative relationships in my work – relationships specifically intended to support resilience in clients. I work with clients to find relief from and deeper meaning in their difficulties, and believe that, when carefully attended to, dark moods, unwanted habits, difficult symptoms, and disturbing thoughts, feelings, and dreams serve as doorways through which a deeper relationship with oneself is possible.

I hold a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Saybrook University, and three master’s degrees in counseling, general psychology, and Jungian/Archetypal depth psychology, and certification as a clinical trauma professional. I am a licensed psychologist with particular expertise with anxiety disorders, trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, emotional dysregulation, men’s issues, and shame. I am also a seasoned LENS and HPN neurofeedback clinician.

In addition to my private psychotherapy practice, I am tenured associate professor in the Department of Counseling and a former core faculty member in the Depth Psychology program at Sonoma State University. I have also held a core faculty position in the doctoral program at the Sanville Institute (formerly the California Institute for Clinical Social Work), and adjunct faculty appointments in the doctoral and master’s programs at Saybrook University and Meridian University. My scholarly writing has been published in academic journals and I have presented my work at national conferences.

I am a second-generation native to Sonoma County and am pleased to call beautiful Northern California my home, where I live with my family.

To learn more about my approach to psychotherapy, training, or credentials, please click here.

My Approach