Solano Psychotherapy Associates

Solano Psychotherapy Associates operates under the California psychology licence of Dr. Michael Gray.   Doctors Elizabeth Krainer and Kevin Orzach are registered psychological assistants working for their psychology license post-doctoral hours under Dr. Gray.   Hae-Ok Miller is a  registered Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist intern working for her MFT license post-masters hours under Dr. Gray. 

Michael Gray, PhD. is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Albany, CA. (since 1984).   He is on the faculty of The Psychotherapy Institute of Berkeley.   He works with individuals, couples, families, and groups (group psychotherapy) from a developmental and psychodynamic perspective.   Solano Psychotherapy Associates also has two psychological assistants and a marriage, family, and child counselor intern, working under the supervision of Dr. Gray.

FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: Dr. Gray provides post graduate workshops, short courses, and on-going clinical case seminars for licensed mental health professionals for continuing education credits.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Gray grew up in Hawthorne, Nevada, attended the University of Nevada and received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering, his first career for 12 years.   After moving up into management and taking several management courses, he became more interested in people, their motivations, difficulties, and interactions.  He started taking undergraduate and then graduate courses in psychology at JFK University.  In 1980, he exchanged his full time engineering job for a part time consulting job and went full time to graduate school in psychology.  Dr. Gray received his masters in psychology in 1982 from John F. Kennedy University and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Professional School of Psychology in San Fransisco in 1985.   He was licensed as a Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist in 1984 and received his clinical psychology license in 1987.   Dr. Gray trained at the Solano Center in Albany under Doctors Stephen Goldbart and David Wallin, and has been in private practice there ever since.  He is dedicated to keeping up with the latest literature on psychodynamic psychotherapy, reading  professional journals regularly and attending an on-going clinical case training seminar, now it its 27th year.   He teaches individual, couples, and group psychodynamic psychotherapy for The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley and Solano Pacific Training and Consultation in Albany.  He is chair of the Clinical Supervisors Committee which oversees the 80 plus supervisors at The Psychotherapy Institute.

CREDENTIALS: California Psychology license # PSY10328

PERSONALLY: Dr. Gray enjoys reading and spends much of his time reading the latest literature in psychology.  He also enjoys spending time with his family.  Together with his wife, he has two sons, two step-sons, and two granddaughters.  Together they enjoy playing music, skiing, golfing, whitewater rafting, and hiking.

Dr. Elizabeth Krainer has an exceptionally rich educational background which includes a B.A. in English Literature, German Language and Philosophy studies at the University of Tubingen in Germany, Educational Psychology Studies at the University of Vienna in Austria, a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University, and 8 years of postgraduate studies  in psychodynamic psychotherapy.   She received her Ph.D. in psychology from The Professional School of Psychology in 2008.   Dr. Krainer has also been training and facilitating groups at Stanford Medical school for the last 5 years.  She is chair of the Group Therapy Training Program at The Psychotherapy Institute in Berkeley, CA. where she has been instrumental in developing that program’s curriculum.   She is also conducting several group therapies for Solano Psychotherapy Associates (see this website’s group therapy post for details), as well as providing individual psychotherapy for men and women of any sexual orientation and a broad range of ages.  You can reach Dr. Krainer at (925)978-0972.

Dr. Kevin Orzech has travelled the world extensively, taught English in East Asia, earned an MS in Geology from Western Washington University and worked as a geologist for 8 years.  His meditation practice, over twenty years running, led him to his interest in psychology.  He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the Wright Institute in 2008, where he has continued to train psychology students.   Dr. Orzech has a strong and diverse psychological training background from his internships at UMass Amherst, The Martinez VA, the Wright Clinic and the Horizon inpatient addictions unit.    Dr. Orzech’s work with Solano Psychotherapy Associates includes providing psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and groups.  His work is grounded in the belief that all people have the resources for happiness and ease within themselves.   He sees his role as facilitating the work to understand his patients’ unique needs, dispositions, and blocks to fully utilizing their personal resources in order to free  them to live up to their fullest potential.    A good therapy relationship – one where you feel understood, safe and appropriately challenged to explore – is a powerful way to get unstuck and relate, feel and live the way you most value.   Over the last 15 years, Dr. Orzech’s work has evolved to encorporate  insight, relational, mindfulness, and body-based approaches.  He specializes in depression, anxiety, couples/relationship issues, life transitions, stress reduction, pain conditions and addictions.  News as of June 18, 2010:  Dr. Orzech has passed his California state licensing exam as a psychologist and is moving from his psych assistantship with me to his own private practice.  He can be reached at (510)981-2187.

Hae-Ok Millerhas a diverse racial and cultural background and is comfortable working with a broad range of ethnicity’s.   Fluent in English and Spanish, Ms. Miller received her Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology at John F. Kennedy University and has formal post graduate training from the Associacion Civil Comunidad Oro, Buenos Aires, Argentina.  She is  impressive in her sincerity, her sensitivity, her ethical approach to her work, and her conscientiousness.   You can reach her at (510)981-2150.