(510) 592-8776 troy.dufrene@feirsteingroup.comTroy DuFrene, PhD, BCBA, is a registered psychological associate with the Feirstein Group. He is additionally a board-certified behavior analyst, licensed in Nevada and Oregon. He offers solution and compassion-focused individual and group psychotherapy to older adolescents, adults, and couples.
After studying philosophy at Reed College in Portland, OR, and, later, linguistics and English literature at San Francisco State University, Dr. DuFrene held senior roles in the seafood and wine industries, eventually transitioning into the publishing industry. After a 15-year career with a psychology book publisher in Oakland, CA, he realized he was playing for the wrong team by supporting psychologists rather than being one. He subsequently completed doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology with distinction at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco and completed an advanced graduate certificate in applied behavior analysis at California State University, San Marcos. He completed an American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral internship at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where his work focused on trauma care in individual and group settings. In addition to the Feirstein Group, Dr. DuFrene is also affiliated with the Center for Compassion-Focused Therapy in New York, NY, and the San Francisco Center for Compassion-Focused Therapy.
Dr. DuFrene is coauthor of nine books, including Mindfulness for Two, The Wisdom to Know the Difference, and Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong with Dr. Kelly Wilson and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Eating Disorders, The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Bulimia, and Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate with Dr. Emily Sandoz. His peer-reviewed research publications to date have focused on applications of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
In addition to long-standing connections with ACT and CFT, Dr. DuFrene is trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Gestalt therapy, and Ericsonian strategic therapy. He is trained to level 3 and largely utilizes Gottman Method when working with couples. As a board-certified behavior analyst, he is extensively trained in working with neuro-divergent populations. Additionally, Dr. DuFrene has completed advanced training in hypnosis through the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis, and he applies these useful (if often misunderstood) techniques in clinical work where warranted. He is a long-time practitioner of Soto Zen Buddhism, and his spiritual life and work are evident in his approach to human suffering.
Dr. DuFrene’s areas of clinical specialization include trauma (including complex and family trauma); anxiety and related disorders; issues related to ASD/ADHD, particularly with gifted and high-achieving individuals; relationship conflict; sexual problems, including non-traditional relationships and kink-related issues; and existential and spiritual issues. Additionally, he applies hypnosis specifically to issues related to habit change, pain management, sleep problems, and issues related to social anxiety, including fear of public speaking and professional performance.
Dr. DuFrene offers in-person services as well as telemedicine services to residents of California (registered psychological associate #94025675). He can be reached at (510) 592-8776 or troy.dufrene@feirsteingroup.com