And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

― Anaïs Nin

Welcome to Supervision

Being an intern brings many challenges, possibly more than anything you have experienced before. My primary goal in providing supervision is to help you navigate these challenges and make the internship a successful learning and growing experience. I hope that we’ll gradually learn to know and trust each other.

My intention is to be completely open and honest with you and I invite you to tell me if ever it does not appear to be that way. The supervisor is one of your primary resources during internship, and you are welcome to contact me any time with issues that arise in your practice.

Sources of Inspiration

My work is inspired by various traditions, teachers, and mentors. Some examples are: Milton Erickson, C. G. Jung, Marion Woodman, Thomas Moore, Clarissa P. Estes, Stephen Gilligan, and Eric Greenleaf. Buddhist psychology, Greek mythology, and Jewish wisdom also inform and affect my work. My therapy and supervision style can be described as soulful, interactive, relational, experiential, solution oriented and transpersonal.

Israel “Rulik” Perla, PhD, MFT

I supervise under the legal umbrella of several non-profit organizations:
Grateful Heart, Heart in Balance and the Center For Psychotherapy, Spirituality & Creativity.

Supervision with Israel “Rulik” Perla, PhD, MFT

Individual Supervision

Group Supervision

Application

"Supported me in turning a compassionate eye towards my own process..."

As my supervisor, Rulik’s grounded wisdom and presence was equally as valuable to me as his strong clinical skills. He consistently supported me in turning a compassionate eye towards my own process and unfolding as a therapist, which I now know to be one of the most important things I can do to be of service to my clients.

D.W., Berkeley, CA

"I love how much I grew as a clinician and person during my time with Rulik. "

Supervision with Rulik was a weekly highlight during my internship. His wisdom, depth, curiosity, warmth and attentive presence gave me an incredible playground where I could explore and expand as a clinician and person. My time with Rulik was (and is) an invaluable gift. Supervision with Rulik was more than I even knew to ask for. At the University of Rulik I got to soak up stories, knowledge, experience, wisdom, and depth. I love how much I grew as a clinician and person during my time with Rulik.

M.P., Oakland, CA

"He has a way of helping people connect to a truth that’s both inside them and that transcends them."

I was in group supervision with Rulik for all of my practicum and most of my internship. Rulik’s supervisory style can be summed up by the Rumi quote “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” A storytelling trance leader, Rulik helped me find my style and myself as a clinician but in a way that weaves me securely into my lineage, past and present, of other mystical, compassionate soul spelunkers. He has a way of helping people connect to a truth that’s both inside them and that transcends them, at once.

L.B., Oakland, CA

"In my work with Rulik I felt I was “seen”, and that is priceless"

Being seen is important in any relationship but it is more so when you expect to be seen for who you are and the work you do in a setting such as being observed in a therapeutic work. I believe this made a difference in my work with Rulik that I felt I was “seen”, and that is priceless.

M.H., Crockett, CA

"He holds a compassionate, nonjudgmental framework while also applying his skillful knowledge and clinical wisdom."

I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with Rulik. He holds a compassionate, nonjudgmental framework while also applying his skillful knowledge and clinical wisdom. Rulik taught me how to deepen the relationship with my clients while serving them with the most effective modalities in transpersonal and somatic psychology.

M.Z., Oakland, CA

"He encouraged my own somatic/emotional/intellectual awareness."

From the beginning to the end of Group Supervision, Rulik embodied the rhythm, spaciousness, and inquiry for me to model on in co-facilitating a group of emotionally disregulated seniors. He encouraged my own somatic/emotional/intellectual awareness. Rulik’s apt and attuned answers and interventions and his insistence on safety, not only reduced my anxiety as a trainee, but reinforced and ignited my engaged hope as a group-leader.

S.B., Berkeley, CA

"I learned to better manage my own judgements and emotions when working with more challenging clients."

In working with Rulik I learned to better manage my own judgements and emotions when working with more challenging clients. I found something to love about my clients, to see their underlying child who was in need of care. This led to profound work and healing in my opinion.

M.C., Durham, NC

"He gave helpful, insightful, smart and compassionate guidance that has ultimately made me a much better therapist."

What he provided me with during that fairly vulnerable time of individual and professional development was a sense of safety to explore the rough edges of what I didn’t yet know, hadn’t yet learned, rather than a forum for sharing what I was already confident about. To make the best use of a supervision space, I had to be open, shame-free, and willing to reveal my missteps and uncertainties in earnest–not easy for me. Rulik not only earned the trust that made this opening possible for me, he gave helpful, insightful, smart and compassionate guidance that has ultimately made me a much better therapist.

L.G., LMFT, Oakland, CA