Troy DuFrene Ph.D.

About Troy DuFrene Ph.D.

Troy DuFrene, PhD, BCBA, is a postdoctoral fellow and associate psychologist at the Center for  CFT. He is additionally a board-certified behavior analyst, licensed in Nevada and Oregon, and a registered psychological associate in California. 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 Center for CFT, Dr. DuFrene is also affiliated with the San Francisco Center for Compassion-Focused Therapy in San Francisco and the Feirstein Group in Beverly Hills, CA.   

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.  

Words from Troy about their approach:

What do you want to accomplish in therapy? A lot of people want to have less of something: anxiety, depression, anger, relationship conflict, and so forth. This is understandable. When things hurt us and get in our way, even if those things come from inside us, it’s very reasonable to want them to go away. But what if making things go away has been the problem all along? Can you remember a time in your life when you felt strong, resilient, and resourceful? During this time, was your life free from problems? I’m guessing not. Rain falls on everyone from time to time. The difference then was that you were moving your feet in the direction of things that mattered to you at that time. Of course you made mistakes and had setbacks. That’s life. But your life was expanding during that time, and that energy and growth can make all the difference.

My work is grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which is a kind of psychotherapy that makes this kind of work a focus. Compassion is another focus of my work, although there are different understandings of compassion. The one I favor draws heavily on courage, openness, and a willingness to bear witness to suffering, both yours and that of others. A good friend of mine and this practice, Dennis Tirch, calls this “fierce compassion.” I like this, and I think it describes how I feel about compassion very well.

My wish for all my clients is that they start living richer, more meaningful lives from the very first session. This can involve hard work. The most satisfying part of my work is getting the privilege of walking with people while they face these challenges. If you’re ready to start changing your life today, I will look forward to sitting with you.