About SF Bay Area Couples Psychologist Dr. Robert Solley, Ph.D.

Dr. Robert Solley is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in couples therapy and neuropsychology. Earning his PhD from the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley, Dr. Solley has been licensed for over 15 years. He has trained and worked in such diverse settings as Children's Hospital in Oakland, California-Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, and is a Staff Therapist at the Couples Institute in Menlo Park. Dr. Solley has taught doctoral students as an adjunct faculty member at CSPP and at the Wright Institute. His work with couples stems from a long-standing interest in family systems and couples research, and grew out of working for years with families of children with learning differences. Dr. Solley presents widely around the Bay Area on these and other topics. Currently he maintains an active private practice in Noe Valley, San Francisco.

Why See Me?

birds As mentioned above, I am a staff therapist with the Couples Institute in Menlo Park--one of the leading couples sites in the country. My interest in family systems and couples therapy goes all the way back to my earliest internship at a family therapy center prior to graduate school over 20 years ago. From almost the same time I have also been deeply influenced by the work of John Gottman as well as a number of other giants in the field.

Clients describe me as fair, empathic, steady, collaborative, grounded, and a very focused listener. One of the most frequent complaints from couples who have not had good experiences with other therapists is that the therapist let them continue their destructive negative interactions. If you as a couple are engaging in destructive or unproductive patterns, I will be firm and directive to help you build more effective skills. If you are working well with principles and skills that you are learning, or if you need more room to feel or reflect, I will pull back and give you more space vase to do those things.

It is one of my highest priorities to make sure you are getting the best experience possible out of therapy and I take active steps to monitor my work with you and make corrections on an ongoing basis. I work with all kinds of couples, and I especially enjoy working with premarital or early relationship couples, and with new parents and all the stresses that they encounter

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