Dr. Anita Barrows received her Ph.D. from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, after earning Masters degrees in English and Italian literature. Dr. Barrows has maintained a private practice in Berkeley since 1988 and is a tenured professor at the Wright Institute.

Barrows interned at several Bay Area hospitals before establishing her practice. At San Francisco General Hospital, she worked in the pediatric acute trauma ward. At UC Moffitt, she worked in the pediatric oncology ward; and at Oakland Children’s Hospital she helped found a clinic for the assessment and treatment of children on the autism spectrum.

A widely-published and recognized poet, Barrows has won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Centrum Foundation, the Ragdale Foundation, and other granting agencies; and has had twelve volumes of translations published by American and British publishers.

Evaluation and treatment specialities

Dr. Barrows’ practice today includes the evaluation and treatment of:

• Children, adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum, including those with Asperger’s Syndrome (on which Dr. Barrows wrote her doctoral dissertation and on which she has lectured in this country and in Britain);
• Children and adolescents with other neurodevelopmental disabilities;
• Children and adolescents with learning disabilities;
• Children and adolescents dealing with issues of parental divorce or blended families;
• Children and adolescents who have undergone personal, familial, environmental or social trauma;
• Children, adolescents and adults dealing with issues of gender or sexual orientation;
• Children, adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders;
• Children, adolescents and adults dealing with chronic or terminal illness.
• Therapy with adults of college age or in their twenties and thirties, seeking to make transitions in their education, careers, relationships and commitments
• Therapy and consultation with parents concerned about children with social, developmental, behavioral or academic issues.

Dr. Barrows also works with couples and has seen a number of couples with one or both partners more comfortable working in French or Italian.

Dr. Barrows’ office.

With twenty-five years of teaching experience, Dr. Barrows is available for consultations with others in the mental health field, especially those working with autism spectrum disorders.

Dr. Barrows has worked as a therapist and psychological consultant internationally in areas of war and occupation.  She is trained in homeopathy, cognitive-behavioral, and mindfulness techniques as well as in Jungian-informed psychodynamic therapy and in sandtray and other play therapy methods. She is also a specialist in animal-assisted therapy.