Find a Therapist in Seal Beach, California.

I provide a safe environment for you to share your story, address the challenges you are facing, and explore your hurts, hopes, and dreams. My approach to working with you includes a combination of psychodynamic, existential, and attachment-based concepts. I believe your history is important and we take time to address and understand how it has impacted you. We will look at how the person you are today is working for you and address areas that keep you from reaching your current goals. I also want to know how your past affects your ability to be in relationship with others. I will walk alongside you through this journey of healing and personal growth.

I believe in creating an atmosphere in therapy in which you can feel safe and comfortable with me so that you can share what is bothering you without judgement. Clients give me feedback that I am warm, caring , humorous, and easy to talk to. I believe that successful therapy also involves learning new skills and learning to think differently about your life or whatever is bothering you. To achieve this, I often encourage between sessions "homework" to accelerate therapeutic progress.

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in a positive manner. Its aim is to help people understand the thoughts behind feeling anxious or depressed and addressing these thinking patterns. Psychotherapy will help you change behaviors and habits that are limiting you, to experiencing your fullest potential.

Meetings typically feel like engaging conversations where together we take on a problem (or a set of problems) that has been affecting your life in a way that is not what you want. Over the course of these conversations, you might expect to gain a better sense of where you stand and how you want to proceed, based on your skills, your resourcefulness, and what is truly important to you.

I work with an entire person--the mind, emotions, body, spirit, relationships. I offer an alternative approach to traditional psychotherapy because sometimes we are stuck beyond our thoughts. I believe we are often stuck beyond how we think about something, but by how our body holds and remembers the experiences. After all, we feel the anxiety in our chest, shoulders or stomach. When we are depressed, we struggle to move, sleep, concentrate etc. I work to remove the block from wherever it is stuck. My clients come to me after years of ineffective therapy. They are looking for more than talking about their struggles or identifying how they think about them in favor of a change in living.

I chose the field of counseling because I am passionate about people & the process of growth. I chose to be a psychotherapist out of a sincere desire to help others believe in themselves and reach the goals they have set to lead more sucessful lives and enjoy healthier, happier relationships with those around them. I have a broad experience in working with individuals, children, couples & families. I consider it an honor to be present alongside my clients on such a rich, rewarding and powerful journey.

Starting therapy can feel intimidating, and opening up to someone new can be awkward. That's completely normal! But here's the good news: therapy doesn't have to be a one-size-fits-all experience filled with judgment. I create a safe and supportive space where you can feel comfortable expressing yourself freely within a therapeutic environment. My approach is all about you. I don't believe in a cookie-cutter therapy plan. Instead, I use a variety of techniques to create a personalized roadmap that addresses your specific needs and goals. This might include exploring the root of your struggles, learning tools to manage negative thoughts, or even techniques that connect your mind and body.

I enjoy working with adults and adolescents and specialize in the treatment of eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm and other maladaptive behaviors (including underlying issues of anxiety, depression and trauma), which may be preventing my clients from living a life of inner peace and enjoying fulfilling connections with others. I am a licensed Clinical Psychologist through the California State Board of Psychology (PSY 27951).

Ask yourself, when was the last time I invested in me, my own well-being and overall health? Psychotherapy offers you the opportunity to express your unspoken fears and worries in a healthy way while learning insight as to the causes of the underlying issue. While supported by your therapist, you have the opportunity to explore and process the impact of life events (ie., childhood experiences/relationships, major life changes such as marriage, birth of a child, divorce, loss of a loved one, and current relationships) in a non-judging environment that will afford you the opportunity to improve your overall level of functioning.

I like to ask good questions rather than solutions. I am a professional collaborator. When it comes to anxiety and trauma, there are practical tools I use to help clients relieve their nervous system. I use deep brain-based work called brainspotting. In my talk therapy, I like to use the foundation of narrative therapy to help clients feel dignified and learn to use their values to help carry them forward. Its the best of both worlds using a processing technique and another technique that requires thinking. I use all areas of the brain.

Psychotherapy gives us the opportunity to understand and change something that is negatively affecting our lives that we do not understand. Examples: Work success unobtainable! I am not liked at work! I Feel hoeless and helpless at times! Romance illudes me! Friendships are few or don't exist at all! I can't get intimate easily! Realtionships come and go! I always seeming pick the wrong people for partners! Its hard for me to set goals! I day dream a lot! In Psychotherapy we will explore the problems, understand the causes, how they are impacting our lives today. We will identify the areas we want to change, seek out solutions, set goals and work toward resolution.

Most of us don’t think about our mental health until we have a disorder or a serious problem that impacts us negatively. Many of us have learned communication, coping skills, and parenting skills from our caregivers which have not always been positive or helpful. Through our life experiences we develop good or bad habits, a positive or negative world view, effective or poor communication skills, healthy or unhealthy coping skills. Therapy by a professional can teach you new skills and behaviors to improve your relationships, increase your satisfaction and happiness, and improve your overall well being.

My clients often find me easy to talk to and say they feel comfortable with me, trusting quickly. This can make the psychotherapeutic process easier and more effective for my clients, especially if they are nervous or don’t know what to expect. Therapy with me can range from just talking casually with each other, leading to insights, increased self awareness, and processing through emotional issues, or it could be more intensive deeper therapy like EMDR.