Meet Dr. Brooke Armstrong, PhD MFT
Dr. Brooke has a warm and playful style, as well as a diverse background in the arts and sciences. Her modern approach to counseling engages clients with brain education, perspective shifts, an iterative action-oriented process and concrete tools to help them thrive.
Academics
Dr. Brooke Armstrong has long been fascinated by how the brain works and how we create our own experience. She conducted research at the Salk Institute and received her PhD in Neuroscience from University of California, San Diego. Her studies focused on how we integrate perception, memory and attention to understand the world around us. Dr. Armstrong has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the Wright Institute and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Stanford University.
Counseling
Dr. Armstrong has been in private practice since 2010. She is a licensed MFT in California (#51691) and in Texas (#203106). Prior to opening her office in Hayes Valley, Dr. Armstrong ran DBT/CBT groups and taught coping skills at UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute. For two years, she provided counseling at Haight Ashbury Psychological Services, where she helped people with relationships, depression, anxiety and stress. Dr. Armstrong also provided suicide counseling at Family Services Agency of Marin.
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Teaching
Dr. Armstrong is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in the Product Design Department at Stanford University, where she is facilitating two courses “Designing Your Life” and “Design Implementation” for Professor Bill Burnett. She was a Visiting Professor in the Psychology Department at UC Berkeley, where she received rave reviews for her psychology and psychopharmacology courses. Over several years, she lectured on psychology and neuroscience at Stanford University and at UC San Diego, and she gave talks on design research at California College of the Arts. Dr. Armstrong was also included in California Pacific Medical Center’s Mini-Medical School Series, where she spoke on the Neurobiology of Love.
Art & Design
Prior to counseling, she had a career in design for many years, creating science museum exhibits, websites, branding and products. As an interaction designer she often used design research to study people’s emotions, motivations and behaviors in order to provide practical design solutions. She also wrote and directed a feature film called “Brain Pirates”, holds two US internet patents and continues to paint, sculpt and work on other personal creative endeavors. She sometimes exhibits her work around the Bay Area, and has several ongoing photography projects, which can be seen at Braincrumbs.com.
Bright and Spacious Office
Office Therapy Dog
Sprockets is a licensed therapy dog with the SF SPCA who often accompanies Dr. Armstrong in the office. He is a rather goofy, non-shedding, hypoallergenic standard poodle.
“Thank you for your generous spirit. You are helping us to heal in so many ways. With your heartfelt guidance, brains (and wicked sense of humor!) – you make the process fun.”