personal journey
community wisdom
and trainings
psychotherapy needs
Psychotherapy, Writing, Training . . .
Welcome to the psychotherapy website of Tim Dreby, MFT. With twenty eight years of experience in community mental health, I work with an array of mental health challenges. If you are looking for safe, nonjudgemental support from a seasoned clinician, you can check out my practice page for more details. I stay current with the latest trauma modalities, am in network with a host of insurance panels, and am practiced at adjusting to meet you where you are at.
My practice is currently open two days a week but will be expanding to a full time practive on 11/1/2026 when I will likely be adding in person options. in Oakland CA. I work primarily with trauma, neurodivergence and special messages which includes trauma responses, “psychosis,” “mania,” or “dissociation.” I have run special message groups for eighteen years. They are a part of more people’s mental health than many would think.
You can find links to my award-winning book and trainings below that are there to help readers better understand what “psychosis” is and about cultural delusions associated with medicalized words like “schizophrenia,” “schizoaffective,” or “bipolar.” Thank you so much for stopping by!
Join Tim’s Email List to Learn About Special Messages, a Free PDF
Across Diagnostic Categories!
Whether you are a sufferer, survivor, provider or loved one, I am almost certain that when we look across diagnostic categories that more people relate to these experiences than you think!
What Will People Think?
When a person first experiences a psychosis or special message emergency, many think a threshold has been crossed from which there is no going back. Often, associates presume the worst possible outcome and go on with their lives as if the sufferer no longer exists.
Treatment?
Often, the focus of treatment is overly protective reality checks and behavioral control. Many experts do not know what to do and utilize an institutional system that does not work and can make things worse. They may vastly underestimate what the sufferer can learn and accomplish.
Mental Health Warehousing And I
I was a skinny and reluctant social worker when I first started out. I was working through an eating disorder. Initially, I didn’t really believe that taking home a middle-class salary for nickel and diming those less fortunate was my idea of contributing to the world. I guess, I’d gotten the idea that that was […]
The Love She Keeps
But what is this I am seeing in her: Scraggle screaming its way out of her head? Bleach stains on her shirt where colors have bled? If not her stout torso top maimed femurs That wheel-chairs homeless through jungle plunder Living the life that mother proclaimed dead, When mother did lie to asylum heads; Than […]
How to Help When You Think Someone Might Be Delusional
When you think a person has a delusional idea, it is so important to remember that they often have amassed a significant amount of evidence to convince them they are correct. They likely know what they used to think, it is just that what they currently think seems to be more accurate. In fact, we […]
Learn How I Upgraded My Schizophrenia to Bipolar, And What That Means
“So, you have bipolar,” said the well-meaning psychiatrist, “So what’s the big deal?” I had been talking about the stigma associated with presuming that all mental health challenges were disorders. He interrupted me. But wait! This was the first time anyone ever suggested that I had bipolar! Was I supposed to give up my perspective […]
Niki’s book review
“What a great read! As a person with mental health issues myself, I could relate to most of the memoir. Go ahead and read this book. I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down. Read cover to cover fast!”
Ammi Rostin on The Journey Through Madness Workshop
Journey Through Madness is a unique training taught by Tim Dreby. Tim is very engaging and his teaching includes information, conversations and videos. The classes are well planned. Tim is generously sharing his own experiences which made participants feel safe and comfortable to open up. The classes are full of helpful material which I can go back to and study closer. I am grateful for the opportunity to join the workshop, and I recommend it to anyone looking for better understanding of psychosis.
Paige Lovitt, Readers Views, five stars
“[Clyde’s] story is fascinating because he is able to intellectualize what he was thinking and feeling at the time, even if he is discussing his paranoid delusional thoughts . . . As someone with a Master’s of Science degree in a counseling field, I have found my greatest lessons have been from real people and not material in textbooks. As I read Clyde’s story, I felt like I learned many lessons through what he has to share. My work will definitely be more beneficial by what I learned from him.”
M.I. on THe Journey Through Madness Workshop
What made the greatest impression on me from Tim’s class was learning that there are many angles from which to support a person who is experiencing psychosis and that this kind of support can lead to recovery! It was valuable to know I was learning this from someone who really knows and has had first had personal experience
Rabia Tanveer, Readers Favorite, five stars
“I finally understand what a person with a mental illness feels like,lives like, and how he fights for his sanity and his life every single day . . .This book has compassion, passion, understanding, and a force of will that will allow any person to become better and make peace with themselves. Great job.”
Midwest Book Review, five stars
“An intensely personal and impressively well written memoir, “Fighting for Freedom in America: Memoir of a ‘Schizophrenia’ and Mainstream Cultural Delusions” is a compelling read from beginning to end.”
Linda Jacobs on The Journey Through Psychosis Workshop
I have worked in the mental health system for many years and this workshop was like a breath of fresh air. Tim has opened my eyes to a whole different way of understanding “psychosis” and provided techniques that feel like a much better way of interacting with someone who is suffering. It should be mandatory training for all staff of hospitals and mental heath institutions. As a family member of someone who “hears voices,” this workshop has given me the chance to connect to my loved one with confidence and grace.
Book Viral Spotlight
“Much has been written on the subject of schizophrenia with as many paths to recovery as there are individuals affected by it, but Dee’s work is most notable for his candid reflections on cultural delusions. Clearly articulating the loss of faculties that make us what we are, they prove intrinsic to the telling of his story. More importantly they provide an often harrowing perspective on the anguish of mental illness from the inside and in doing so allow Dee to address commonly held beliefs and prejudices.”
Karen Mabry on The Journey Through Psychosis Workshop
This workshop provided me with new skills for my work as a peer. I believe the roadmap offers the best way to connect with peers struggling with psychosis.
Tony Parsons
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written mental illness memoir book. . . . There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great biographical movie, a college PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (A & E, History channel).
Peg Morrison
If you ever wondered what happened to Holden Caulfield, read this book.
It’s compelling, insightful, and artfully told. At times gritty and at times gracious, it is written from the heart. I literally laughed and cried.
I understand the critiques written by others. There is some redundancy, and some passages are hard to follow. To me this mirrors recovery perfectly. There are days that last a lifetime. There are questions that are never answered. For me that’s part of the beauty of this book.
My hats off to the author.
M. on THe Journey Through Madness Workshop
As someone with a loved one who has lived with and survived these sorts of experiences, I deeply appreciated Tim Dreby’s unique, non-medicalized approach to support. From my own experience, many of Tim’s recommendations and suggestions — likely considered “radical” to mainstream psychiatry — are exactly what people going through these crises are desperately needing: to be listened to, to not be ridiculed or stigmatized, to be treated as though what is happening to them has meaning, & to be treated as fully human with something to share for the rest of us.
Anonymous on The Journey Through Madness Workshop
This course transformed my understand of and approach to working with folks experiencing psychosis. By breaking away from the medical model, Tim’s anti-oppressive and mad pride-oriented approach helped me build trust while working with message receivers and support them on their recovery journey. The community approach to this course creates a safe space for exploration and interpersonal learning from many different perspectives, including message receivers, providers, and support persons. Whatever your connection to psychosis is, I cannot recommend this course enough as an experience that will change your perspective of madness and provide a myriad of tools to promote recovery and healing.