Meet Our Psychotherapist Team

Women's Wellness Psychiatry was founded in 2017 to fill the gap in the care of women across important life stages, and to provide an approach beyond the conventional.

Our psychotherapists utilize an array of evidence-based, trauma-informed therapies, and are highly trained and specialized in reproductive issues and important life changes, including premenstrual syndromes, preconception, pregnancy and postpartum, difficult fertility journeys, grief and loss, and midlife and menopause.

Women’s Wellness Psychotherapists

Sonja Banks, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Banks has over 22 years of experience as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She specializes in maternal mental health issues; reproductive trauma & loss; new parent preparation; fertility challenges; special needs parenting; and pregnancy after loss.  In addition, she treats disorders such as Generalized Anxiety, Panic, OCD, complicated grief, and chronic pain.

Dr. Sonja Banks completed her M.A and Ph.D. degrees at CSPP-San Diego in Clinical Psychology with a Health Psychology/Behavioral Health Emphasis. She then finished her post-doctoral Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina. She also worked as the Senior Reproductive Psychologist at UC San Diego’s Department of Psychiatry -Maternal Mental Health Clinic’s Intensive Outpatient Program for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders.

Dr. Banks believes in a warm, collaborative, and goal-oriented approach to treatment. She is a Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist but uses other modalities such as Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She also has developed a 9-component model of self-care that can be tailored to each client’s needs.

Specialty Areas:

  • Pregnancy/Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders

  • Reproductive Trauma and Grief/Loss

  • Fertility Challenges

  • Pregnancy after Loss

  • OCD/Generalized Anxiety/Panic Disorder/Phobias

  • Mood Disorders

  • Pain Management and Chronic Health Issues

Allison Altman, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Altman is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed her postdoctoral training in women’s health at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Altman specializes in women’s mental health and trauma, specifically in the perinatal period. She also specializes in working with women experiencing infertility, and has trained at the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health. She has expertise in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mood and anxiety disorders, grief following pregnancy loss, and the adjustment to pregnancy and postpartum, especially for those with a history of infertility.

Dr. Altman utilizes evidence-based approaches, and has extensive training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure therapy (PE), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), and mindfulness-based interventions. She believes that balancing acceptance and change is essential for growth, and her approach is collaborative and goal-oriented, working from a place of empathy and validation

Specialty Areas:

  • Perinatal and postpartum mood disorders

  • Infertility

  • PTSD and Traumatic Stress

  • Emotion Dysregulation

  • Anxiety disorders

  • Pregnancy loss/grief

Jessica Abdalla, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Jessica Abdalla is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Santa Clara University and her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Idaho State University. She completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Palo Alto VA, specializing in behavioral medicine and women’s health psychology.

Dr. Abdalla is passionate about supporting women through reproductive challenges and health concerns by drawing on clients’ strengths and resilience to empower positive self-care.

Dr. Abdalla utilizes an evidence-based approach to care, conceptualizing from a biopsychosocial lens and drawing from CBT, DBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based interventions to inform treatment. She strives to build collaborative, empathetic, and goal-oriented relationships with clients, focused on improving quality of life and wellbeing. With regard to reproductive mental health concerns,

Dr. Abdalla specializes in mood and anxiety disorders, grief following pregnancy loss, adjustment to pregnancy and postpartum, and co-occurring medical concerns throughout the reproductive period. In addition, she has expertise in sleep disorders, weight management, chronic pain management, and sexual functioning. 

Specialty Areas:

  • CBT for ADHD

  • CBTi (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia)

  • Perinatal and postpartum mood disorders

  • Anxiety disorders

  • Pregnancy loss/grief

  • Adjustment/life transitions

  • Coping with co-occurring/chronic medical conditions

  • Sleep disorders

  • Chronic pain management

  • Body Image

Jessica Lief, LCSW - Psychotherapist

Jessica C. Lief, LCSW earned her undergraduate degree from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in literature, nonfiction writing, and French.  She obtained a master’s degree in Advanced Clinical Practice in Social Work from New York University and a Master of Studies in Law with a concentration in Health Law with high honors from UC Law San Francisco. Currently, she is enrolled in a doctorate in social work program through Simmons University. She also completed advanced psychoanalytic training. 

Jessica is passionate about guiding every patient in their transformation and witnessing each step as it is achieved. She works to help you find what is deeply meaningful and important in your life and help you develop concrete skills to get your needs met. She also has experience working with themes of reproductive justice and LGBTQ+ and racial minority populations. 

Jessica's approach incorporates Dialectic Behavioral Therapy, mindful self-compassion, self-psychology, and psychodynamic therapy.

Specialty Areas:

  • Eating disorders and body image

  • Fertility, grief, loss, and IVF

  • Perinatal and postpartum depression, psychosis, and PTSD

  • Chronic illnesses, including endometriosis and PCOS

Jan Yaffe, MFT - Psychotherapist

Jan Yaffe is a licensed California Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), who has been a Psychotherapist for over 36 years. She received her Master’s in Education with a specialty in Counseling at Boston University, and has had postgraduate training in cognitive psychology, mindfulness, and couple’s therapy. She also trained as a mediator and life coach.

Jan has worked extensively with women facing health and mental health challenges, including perinatal health, pregnancy loss, postpartum depression and infertility. In addition to working with individuals and couples, she has led numerous groups and workshops for women on topics ranging from resilience, pregnancy, challenges of midlife and grief. Jan’s approach incorporates cognitive therapy and mindfulness. Her basic philosophy is that people are whole even if they feel broken. This approach encourages an individual to visualize issues from a new perspective and begin to form new patterns of thinking and acting that support well-being and greater life satisfaction.  

Jan is looking forward to seeing couples and individuals and leading support groups and is deeply committed to helping women find happiness and live fulfilling and meaningful lives.  

Specialty Areas:

  • Resilience

  • Couples therapy

  • Life transitions

  • Challenges of midlife

  • Women’s mental health and wellbeing

  • Grief and loss

  • Chronic illness

  • Support groups

Erin Armer, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Armer is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California who is passionate about helping individuals navigate life's unexpected challenges with self-compassion and resilience.  She works closely with her patients to encourage healing, self-understanding and growth.

Dr. Armer received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from UCLA and earned both her master's and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her Doctoral Psychology Internship at the Stanford School of Medicine and then took time to raise her children--including a child with special needs. Dr. Armer returned to clinical practice as a Post-doctoral Child Psychology Fellow at Stanford Medicine. Her first year she served as a Pediatric Psychology Fellow, helping children with medical needs and their parents cope with the emotional and psychological impact of illness. Her second year, she served as the NICU Fellow, providing trauma-informed therapy to parents of hospitalized infants during stressful and uncertain times.

Drawing from her professional training and personal experience, Dr. Armer has developed specialized expertise in helping women manage the emotional complexities of pregnancy, postpartum adjustment and parenthood. She is certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) and is a Master Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) Practitioner. ART is an evidence-based treatment for trauma that uses lateral eye movements and visualization to both create relaxation and change how distressing images are stored in the brain. Dr. Armer includes cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in her work. She values creating a warm, collaborative relationship and tailors her approach to a patient's particular needs, strengths and interests. Her goal is to help individuals she works with find balance, meaning, and confidence--even while facing change or uncertainty.

Specialty Areas:

  • Pregnancy and Postpartum Mood and Anxiety disorders

  • Reproductive Trauma and Grief/Loss

  • Fertility Challenges

  • Pregnancy after Loss

  • Trauma and PTSD (including medical and birth trauma, NICU experiences)

  • OCD, Generalized Anxiety, Panic Disorder, and Phobias

  • Mood Disorders

  • Pain Management and Chronic Health Issues

  • Caregiver Burnout and Pediatric Chronic Illness Support

View Psychiatrist Bios

Free Phone Consult with Dr. Glezer for Prospective Patients

We’ll review your current state, prior medical history, a brief overview of my services, and options moving forward. If I do not think that my practice is the best fit, I am happy to provide referral alternatives.

PLEASE NOTE: 

In order to provide an individualized & best standard of care, our practice is out-of-network. Please read this brief article by Dr. Glezer explaining why accepting insurance may oftentimes compromise mental health care.