Meet Israel Katz, M.D.

I am a board-certified adult psychiatrist in San Francisco specializing in psychoanalytic therapy, psychoanalysis, and psychiatric treatment in both English and Spanish. I offer a steady, attentive setting where you can speak freely and begin to explore what has brought you to treatment.

Many people seek help because something in their lives continues despite their efforts to change it. They may find themselves returning to similar relationships, struggling with anxiety or depression, or feeling unsettled in ways that are difficult to explain. Even when insight is present, certain patterns persist.

Psychoanalytic therapy offers a space to look carefully at what unfolds over time, including experiences, emotions, and relationship patterns that may not yet be fully clear. Rather than directing the process toward predetermined answers, we allow something new to emerge over time through sustained attention to your experience.

Change in this setting grows from an ongoing process of reflection and engagement. Over time, new ways of relating to yourself and to others can become possible, not through pressure or instruction, but through a deeper recognition of how your history continues to live in the present.

How My Journey Began

My interest in psychoanalysis developed before medical school, as I became increasingly aware of how people can feel caught in patterns that resist explanation or simple advice. This curiosity led me to psychiatry, where I developed a strong medical and clinical foundation.

I completed medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and residency training in adult psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. After becoming board-certified, I pursued advanced training at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, where I also teach and supervise.

For more than two decades, I have worked with adults from diverse cultural, linguistic, and professional backgrounds. Being a psychiatrist who is bilingual and bicultural in English and Spanish informs how I listen and how I think about identity and experience. For some individuals, speaking in their native language is essential to the depth of treatment.

My Approach and Areas of Focus

People come to treatment for many reasons. Some are facing acute distress. Others carry long-standing questions about relationships, work, or their sense of self. Sometimes there is a clearly defined problem; at other times, there is simply a sense that something is not working, even if it cannot yet be fully articulated.

Psychoanalysis makes room for what keeps showing up over time, whether in relationships, emotions, or experiences that may feel difficult to explain. As these patterns are approached with patience and sustained attention, something new can begin to take shape, even when it is not immediately clear or fully understood. 

As a psychiatrist trained in psychoanalysis, I draw on both psychiatric treatment and psychoanalytic therapy. I provide in-depth psychoanalytic therapy along with psychiatric consultation and medication treatment when appropriate. For some individuals, medication can help create the stability necessary for deeper analytic work to proceed. For others, psychotherapy alone is sufficient.

I work best with adults who are open to a sustained, reflective process, where concerns can be explored as they emerge over time.

Professional Commitment and Presence

I remain actively involved in professional communities, teaching, supervising, and consulting with colleagues and therapists. Ongoing dialogue within the field supports a rigorous, reflective practice.

Patients often describe me as steady, attentive, and direct. I listen not only to what is said, but also to what emerges over time within the therapeutic relationship. Creating a respectful and grounded space is central to how I practice.

My interest in literature, film, and the arts continues to inform how I think about language and emotional life. Outside of clinical work, I value time outdoors, meaningful friendships, and the quieter rhythms that help sustain perspective.

I Look Forward To Working With You 

If you would like to explore whether this approach may be right for you, you are welcome to contact me for a brief consultation at 415-673-3125 or through my Contact page. 

Israel Katz, M.D., is a board-certified adult psychiatrist in San Francisco providing psychoanalytic therapy, psychoanalysis, and psychiatric treatment both in person and virtually. He received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and completed residency training in adult psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. He later pursued advanced training at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, where he teaches and supervises. He has worked with adults in both English and Spanish for over two decades.