Kirk Hinman, PhD

Kirk is the best of any of the dozen or more (Ph.D.) psychologists with whom I’ve worked. He has a memory about your life that just won’t quit. He is the most reassuring professional person I’ve ever met who assures you that both of you are in this work together. His counsel is at once insightful and well founded. He engenders in you a loyalty and trustworthiness that is incomparable. Your life would be greatly enriched, if not actually redeemed from self-​denigration, were you lucky enough to secure treatment with him. He is so well suited to his profession that I have often wondered from where he draws his vibrancy and continuous insights into my personal dilemmas. Only one other professional has done almost as much for me, and that is Merle James Yost, LCSW, in Oakland, who first pointed out to me that I had an anxiety disorder underlying my repeated bouts of depression. Dr. Kirk Hinman has doggedly held on with my many anxiety symptoms to assuage their most detrimental impact, while offering me concrete advice as how to endure them and then rebuild for a better future. My highest regards possible are reserved for Dr. Kirk Hinman.

Dr. Kirk Hinman is an exemplary clinical psychotherapist. Besides being a well-​trained clinician, he is insightful, warm, compassionate, and a consummate professional. He absolutely does not engage in the stereotypical «chin-​scratching» sessions in which he remains largely silent while the client is left to her or his own devices only to leave the session wondering «what the hell was that?» Dr. Hinman offers a wonderful balance of directive psychotherapy yet also encourages self-​reflection. You get the sense he is with you all of the way. He is calm and exudes confidence. There is not an arrogant bone in his body; however, he is extraordinarily competent! He is also well versed in a number of psychotherapeutic orientations and blends them uniquely depending upon the needs of the clients — this was, and continues to be, my expereince. I have being seeing Dr. Hinman since ²⁰⁰²⁄₂₀₀₃ and I continue to get an enormous amount out of our work together! I can’t say enough good things about him.
He’s the best!
JE in San Francisco

For people who do not like to read lengthy reviews, here is the bottom line: Kirk is an amazing therapist, so go check him out!
For people who do like to read lengthy reviews, here are the reasons why Kirk is an amazing therapist and why he deserves to be checked out:
I originally thought that therapists were stern and authoritarian (à la Judge Judy, dressed in her black robe with its white laced-​collar, telling me how I screwed up my life), but Kirk has proven to be the exact opposite. He is patient, nonjudgmental, possess a great sense of humor, and he always respects his clients. Kirk gives advice, not orders. (And so far he has never shown up to a session wearing a black robe with a white laced-​collar.) Kirk is also accommodating to his client’s circumstances with a flexible schedule and a generous sliding scale. Last, but in some ways the most important, Kirk has a superb sense of multicultural sensitivity because although he is a Caucasian from the Midwest, he can understand the issues of an Asian Hawaiian Islander like me. Kirk has guided me through several personal and professional difficulties over the years and I have greatly benefited from his keen knowledge and insightfulness. I feel incredibly fortunate to have Kirk as my therapist. Kirk has earned a most heartfelt Mahalo («thank you») from me.