Margaret Benson Thompson

Margaret Benson Thompson is a licensed marriage, family and child counselor who has worked with children and families in school-based and community mental health programs since 1988. She also provides training and supervision for other therapists, as well as facilitating training programs for people in organizations who seek to establish genuinely respectful collaborative practices for communication and problem solving.

She offers workshops and conference presentations with a focus on viewing individual psychological issues in within cultural and community contexts. In her work and her presentations, she utilizes inclusive feminist principles and her spiritual practice of Chi Kung, an internal and meditative martial art form.

In her private practice she uses Psychodynamic, Family Systems, Brief Therapy and Social Justice theories, modalities, and techniques, along with using and teaching Powerful Non-Defensive Communication. She orks with clients includes whose with issues which include child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and recovery, sexual abuse, relationship problems, lesbian/gay/bisexual concerns, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, anger management, domestic violence, parenting, bi-racial/bi-cultural identity, and dealing with job related stresses. She has co-facilitated a variety of therapy groups, such as for adolescents girls, sexual assault survivors and high-risk youth.

Margaret earned Master of Arts degrees both in Clinical Psychology and Women's Studies from Antioch University West, San Francisco, CA. She has worked at Bayview Hunter Point Mental Health, been a Clinical Supervisor for Learning Services of Northern California, and a Senior Clinical Supervisor for La Chiem Children and Family Services. In addition she has been an Adjunct faculty in the Graduate Psychology Program and the Humanities Program at New College.

Margaret is a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. She also belongs to the Bay Area Partnerships for Social Justice, a multicultural group of psychotherapists practicing Narrative and Social Justice theories. She is a past President of the Board of Directors for Destiny Arts Center, a outstanding Violence Prevention Program for Youth Utilizing Martial Arts, Dance, and Theater.

Margaret's own background includes growing up in Virginia in a multi-generational African American family. Her paternal grandmother and her parents instilled in her a dedication to educating herself and thinking critically about the world and a commitment to being socially conscious and responsible. She has exercised these values in her professional and volunteer work with urban youth, disenfranchised populations, people of color, and women and children who have been victimized. Ms. Thompson's spiritual and political beliefs and values inspire her to work tirelessly to create a more just, tolerant, and peaceful world.

Sample Workshop and Conference Topics:

• Adolescent Development
• Advanced Family Therapy
• Feminism: Theories and Issues
• African American Women Writers
• Early American History from a Multi-Cultural Perspective
• African American History
• Building Accountable Relationships
• Working with African American Lesbian Clients
• Mentoring Youth
• Resiliency and Strengths in the Psychological Development of African Americans
• That First Session: Child and Family Assessment Concerns
• Solution-focused Therapy
• Case Presentation of a Multi-generational Family
• Cultural Competence when Working Therapeutically with African American Families

Partial Client/Conference List

• Narrative Therapy Annual Conference
• California School of Professional Psychology
• CA Department of Social Services
• Pacific Center for Human Growth
• San Francisco City College
• Tender Lion Family Program Annual Conference
• Oakes Children's' Center
• African American Heritage Society
• American Association of University Women

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