Therapy near Oakland
Jonah Taylor, LCSW | AASECT Certified Sex Therapist
Oakland draws a particular kind of person. The neighborhoods around Pitt and CMU, the medical professionals flowing in and out of UPMC, the graduate students and academics — there is an intellectual density here. People who read, who think, who analyze.
This is also the neighborhood that recognizes a gap: between understanding something and actually feeling it. You can know, intellectually, that you are stuck in a pattern. You can analyze your relationship with perfect clarity. You can articulate exactly what is happening in your body during sex, what you are avoiding, what you want. And still feel trapped. Still feel disconnected. Still move through your days as though your insight does not quite reach the deeper parts of you.
That gap is real. It is not a failure of intelligence. It is how we are built. The prefrontal cortex — the thinking brain — does not automatically rewire what is held in your nervous system, in your implicit memory, in the way you have learned to protect yourself. Therapy is not about thinking harder. It is about accessing and changing those deeper patterns directly.
That is the work I do, and it is particularly resonant in a neighborhood like Oakland. My office is in East Liberty, just up Highland Avenue — easily accessible whether you are coming from Oakland, from Shadyside, or working downtown.
What I Work With
I specialize in couples therapy using Emotionally Focused Therapy. This is about moving beyond the surface complaint — “we do not communicate” — into the actual dance happening beneath it. What are you protecting? What are you afraid of? How does your partner’s withdrawal trigger your protest, and how does your protest deepen their withdrawal? EFT helps couples see the pattern clearly and, more importantly, interrupt it together.
Sex therapy for individuals and couples. Desire issues, pleasure issues, performance anxiety, mismatched sexuality, questions about orientation or self-understanding, difficulty with vulnerability during intimacy. Sex is never just sex — it is connected to how you relate, how you see yourself, what you believe you are allowed to want. I am an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, which means I have trained extensively in both the psychological and physiological dimensions of sexuality.
Compulsive sexual behavior. If you are caught in a pattern of sexual acting out that does not match your values — whether that is pornography, affairs, or something else — that is what I specialize in. This is not about shame or judgment. It is about understanding what need the behavior is trying to meet, what you are avoiding, what is driving the compulsion. And then building a different way forward.
Individual therapy for the particular challenges of being a thinking, feeling person in a complex world. Anxiety, depression, relationship patterns, the pressure of achievement, the loneliness of being misunderstood.
If you are in Oakland or anywhere in Pittsburgh and ready to close that gap between knowing and feeling, let us talk.
Schedule a free consult →How to Begin
Start with a free 15-minute consultation. This gives us a chance to talk about what is on your mind, what you are looking for, and whether we are a good fit. I offer both in-person sessions at the East Liberty office and online therapy if that works better for your schedule or comfort. I work on a private-pay basis — no insurance, no records sent anywhere, just direct and confidential therapeutic work.
About Your Therapist
I am Jonah Taylor, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. My clinical training is in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, sex therapy for individuals and partners, and psychodynamic approaches to individual work. I hold a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University and have specialized post-graduate training in treating compulsive sexual behavior, desire disorders, and relationship distress. I am direct, psychologically minded, and genuinely interested in understanding what drives the patterns people find themselves stuck in — and what it takes to change them.
Office Location
134 S Highland Ave, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 — located in the Eastside Office Center in East Liberty. From Oakland, the office is easily reached via Highland Avenue or Centre Avenue, about 10 minutes by car or bus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work with university students and academics?
Yes. A meaningful portion of my practice includes graduate students, medical residents, faculty, and professionals connected to Pitt, CMU, and UPMC. The pressures of academic and medical training — perfectionism, impostor syndrome, relational strain, questions about purpose and direction — are things I work with regularly. I also work with people whose intellectual orientation sometimes makes it harder to access the emotional dimension of their experience, which is often where the real work happens.
How far is your office from Oakland?
About 10 minutes by car. My office is at 134 S Highland Avenue in East Liberty, straight up Highland Avenue from Oakland. Multiple bus routes connect the neighborhoods, and there is free street parking near the office.
What is Emotionally Focused Therapy?
EFT is an evidence-based approach to couples therapy developed by Dr. Sue Johnson. It focuses on the emotional bond between partners — specifically, how attachment needs and fears drive the patterns of conflict or withdrawal that couples get stuck in. Rather than teaching communication skills, EFT helps partners understand and change the underlying emotional dynamics. It has one of the strongest research bases of any couples therapy approach.
Do you offer online therapy?
Yes. I offer secure video sessions for clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. Online therapy works well for the kind of in-depth work I do, and many clients — especially those with demanding schedules — prefer it. You can also alternate between in-person and online sessions.
How do I get started?
The first step is a free 15-minute phone consultation. This is a chance to briefly describe what is going on, ask any questions, and see whether working together feels like a fit. There is no obligation. From there, we can schedule a first session either in-person or online.