Josh Krieger, Psy.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Josh Krieger, Psy.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Call or email for an appointment
Video or in-person session available San Francisco
(415) 509-6286 | josh@joshkrieger.com

I help adults, couples and adolescents with

About Me

I have been a therapist for over 20 years, working in private practice with adults and couples, with a specialization in men's issues. My approach is integrative, drawing on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and Experiential Therapies (EFT, AEDP) to fit the unique needs of each person. In my couples work I have a longstanding interest in helping partners move through deep, entrenched communication difficulties. Alongside my clinical training, I maintain a 35-year practice in mindfulness meditation and am fluent in Mandarin Chinese as a second language.

My first career was in software design, where I built speech recognition systems and improved access to the early internet for people with disabilities. That background gives me a working fluency in engineering culture and the particular pressures of startup life. A large part of my practice today is with engineers, founders, and others working in tech.

Becoming Fathers

10-week online group for men entering fatherhood
Facilitated by Dr. Josh and Dr. Nathan

Next group starts September 28, 2026

Learn More

How I think about therapy?

My work as a therapist is guided by many diverse ideas. The links below are popular discussions of topics that interest me. They also represent topics that my clients discuss in therapy sessions.

Parenting and Technology
All parents need to be concerned about the way modern technologies interfere with our childrens' development. Jean Twenge's 2025 book 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World helps guide parents in clearly and actionable ways.
Meaning and Purpose
Cultivating Your Purpose. This 2021 episode from the Hidden Brain podcast interviews Cornell Psychologist Anthony Burrow about how purpose in life can be cultivated.
Designing Your Life: How to build a well-lived joyful life. This 2016 book by Stanford product designers practically talks about how to use modern product design thinking to find direction in life and how you can iterate rapidly over your choices and directions. A quick and great read!
Sex and Marriage
Esther Perel is an amazing speaker and clinician who speaks eloquently about the nature of desire in long-term relationships and how we struggle with keeping our sex lives alive. I'd highly recommend the audiobook versions of both of her books: Mating in Captivity and State of Affairs.
In The New Rules of Marriage, Terry Real teaches about how to overcome those fights that can spiral out of control.
An excellent, and entertaining, look into what Couples Therapy looks like can be seen on the Showtime reality show, Couples Therapy.
The All-or-Nothing Marriage by Eli Finkel. A great book about the ways we expect our partners to meet any and all of our individual needs.
Contracts of Love & Money That Make or Break Relationships with James Sexton, a marriage and divorce lawyer who talks about prenuptual agreements on the Andrew Huberman podcast.
Depression
Andrew Solomon offers an artful, scientific, and  moving personal account of living with and fighting depression. There is no better description of what it's like to have depression than the The Noonday Demon: an atlas of depression.
Addiction and Porn
The modern world is designed to addict us. Psychiatrist Anna Lembke speaks on Hidden Brain about the ways we get addicted, the affects of addiction, and how to free ourselves. Her book Dopamine Nation is a great read or listen.
Perfectionism
If you deal with perfectionism, you know that it invades the enjoyment of life and can paralyze you from any action. This discussion on Hidden Brain about perfectionism with psychologist Thomas Curran talks talks deeply about perfectionism and how to work with it.
Managing Pain
Pain as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon. Ezra Klein's 2023 interview with pain psychologist Rachel Zoffness. She discusses the nature of physical pain and how we can work with it psychologically.
Consciousness and the Mind/Brain
How Emotions are Made is a wonderful book from 2017 by Neuroscientist/Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barett. Here she talks about the ways that we construct our emotions through experience rather than a set of core emotions that are hardwired at birth. She also starts to unravel deeper philosophical questions about the nature of unconscious experience. Also check out her TED talk.
Boundaries
We all know about them, but struggle to set them with our parents, partners, bosses, coworkers, and children. It's always good to read a clear discussion on boundaries. I'd recommend reading/listening to Healthy Boundaries by Chase Hill.
Common Sense Therapy
I love a good anti-authoritarian message, especially one in psychotherapy. Fuck Feelings by Michael and Sarah Bennett is a down-to-earth read about how good therapy can be practical and alive.
Eastern Philosophy
The idea of Wu-Wei (无为) or effortless action, is central to Chinese Daoist thought. It means acting in a fully connected and engaged way without doing anything extra. Many of my clients find inspiration from this ancient idea and the encouragement to do more by doing less! A recent Hidden Brain episode titled, "Why trying too hard can backfire on you" goes into more detail about the meaning of Wu-Wei.
Fatherhood
Pops - Fatherhood in Pieces. This collection of short stories by Michael Chabon speaks to the depth of relationships between fathers and sons. Also, Letters to My Son: A Father's Wisdom on Manhood, Life, and Love by Kent Nerburn is a moving tribute by the author to his father and a gift to his young son. For father's of daughters, I'd recommend: Strong Fathers Strong Daughters.

Packed with lots of information on become a new father (during pregnancy and after the baby is born), take a look at: The Expectant Father and We're Pregnant! The First Time Dad's Pregnancy Handbook.

For some humor about what it's like to be a father, Jim Gaffigan's Dad is Fat is great.
Office Politics and Strategy
Robert Greene gives voice to the necessity of understanding human aggression and self interest. He offers some of the best wisdom on how to strategically manage complex relationships and win. I'd highly recommend both The 48 laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War.
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Life in your 20's
Graduating college was supposed to mean life would open up with endless opportunities, but no one told us we would find ourselves struggling to find meaning and direction and having difficulty making important choices about career and relationships. The Defining Decade: why your twenties matter and how to make the most of them now by Meg Jay is a great read for anyone in their 20's.
Attachment in Relationships
Attachment theory forms the core of how present day psychologists think about relationships. For a quick video primer take a look at these two videos by the School of Life. What is your attachment style and The challenges of anxious-avoidant relationships.
Buddhism
This humorous Sesame Street video of Cookie Monster from the early '70s describes in wonderful detail how Buddhist notions of attachment, craving, and loss lead to both happiness and suffering.

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Lyra

Sanjeev Balarajan, AMFT

Sanjeev is now available for in-person and video appointments at  a reduced fee

Sanjeev Balarajan, AMFT is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist working under the supervision of Dr. Josh Krieger. His clinical focus is on men's mental health: navigating major life transitions, relationship conflict, divorce, and changes in identity, family, and purpose. He also facilitates men's groups, where he helps men build emotional awareness, accountability, and connection in a supportive peer setting.

Before entering the field of psychotherapy, Sanjeev trained in engineering and business and built a career in the technology industry. His interest in people's inner lives developed through years of coaching and mentoring, and was further shaped by his own experience as an immigrant navigating significant personal and cultural transitions. These experiences inform a grounded, empathic approach to therapy, particularly with men facing uncertainty, loss, or redefinition after divorce or separation.

Sanjeev's therapeutic style is integrative and tailored to the unique needs of each client.

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Josh Krieger, Psy.D. (PSY23643)
3632 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
josh@joshkrieger.com
(415) 509-6286