Find a Therapist in Woodcrest, California.

Are you grappling with life, relationship, or work issues? When these issues begin to cause you a great deal of worry or pain, it’s good to find someone to talk to. My focus is on guiding you in learning more constructive ways to deal with the problems in your life. When helping you through this difficult period my approach is supportive, caring, and infused with humor. I assist you in building insights and a skill set that can be applied to a multitude of life stressors.When you become aware of how you move through your world, you can begin to gently guide yourself in a new direction. I look forward to facilitating this process. Please ring 949.370.4726 or e-mail info@southoccounseling.com.

I'm a seasoned licensed individual therapist with a focus on how relationships shape our personalities and overall mental health. I use a comprehensive blend of therapeutic approaches including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and Object-Relations Psychotherapy. Tailoring to the unique needs of individuals seeking personal growth, I empower clients to explore underlying patterns and emotional complexities. With an empathetic and goal-oriented perspective, clients find a path towards self-awareness, emotional balance, and confidence. My deep commitment to individual well-being positions me as an ideal guide for those seeking to transform and enhance their lives in therapy.

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.

We cannot underestimate the impact our families of origin have on our personal development. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers all play an enormous role in how we view ourselves and the world around us. Psychotherapy is a thorough exploration into the causes for many of our dysfunctional behaviors. You will gain insight into how your early life relationships are impacting you current relationships. I provide a supportive and compassionate counseling experience making objective observations throughout the process. Psychotherapy can provide clarity that facilitates positive change. It aims to put to bed old resentments and hurts leaving clients free to pursue healthy relationships.

Therapy is not a one size fits all experience. Though I extensively trained to understand specific theories of practice, I utilize a "prescriptive" approach. This means I will adapt to your needs in treatment. Therapy is co-created, it is relational, and it is in the therapeutic relationship where we seek personal growth to apply outside the therapy room. I work with adult individual clients who are grieving a significant loss, LGBTIQ+ adults, adults with creative blocks, neurodivergent adults, people pleasers, those recovering from trauma, and adults burnt out about their work.

Today we want so much from life and from love. Finally we have tools to help us grow out of issues that keep us stuck! Tools can be used to release buried feelings that keep us wound up, anxious and too compulsive (or addictive) to really connect and feel nourished. Using tools helps us regain our center and overcome the wounds from our childhood that hold us back. Depression, anxiety and old anger can restrict our capacity to really live a full life. Tools give us a way to have healthy boundaries, to manage our moods better, to be more sensual and passionate and to make life feel like an adventure, not a endurance test! We don't have to be perfect but we can reach our potential!

While I am technically a psychotherapist, I do not like the word "psychotherapy" for two reasons. First, when people hear the word, they usually think of a troubled person reclining on a couch. I like to think of myself as an advanced coach because I can help people regardless of the severity of their challenges, but we can get deep into the nitty-gritty emotional content of a relationship if we need to. Second, I work with more than one person, because I help improve relationships, which *may* involve two or more people in the room.

Clients are provided a safe, respectful and non-judgmental forum to process their feelings and emotions. This gives our client's the opportunity to heal from past traumas and behaviors and learn and initiate new methods of behavior the ability to grown as an individual. John is a client-centered, solution focused, CBT therapist who offers his client multiple therapeutic approaches to foster the client's success and goal achievement.

I am a Counseling Psychologist, therapist who uses Psychotherapy as a healing process, directed in assisting persons who deal with difficulties of daily life functioning. The initial consultation can focus on identifying the immediate problem and a solution. The following sessions are directed to longer term goals and a resolution. The treatment model in your therapeutic process is best tailored to suit your personal, emotional needs.

Psychotherapy gives you a place that exists for one purpose: to understand you. Away from the roles you play and the people you look after, you can finally turn toward your own experience and say what's true. That alone can be a relief; over time, it becomes much more. My role is to listen with care and to help you notice what you've overlooked: the recurring themes, the feelings that don't add up, the desires and fears you may not have put into words before. Much of what shapes us runs quietly underneath the surface, and bringing it into the open is what allows things to shift. The trust we build together is part of how the work heals: being met with serious attention and care.

My approach to psychotherapy is mostly relational. I take a family systems approach that addresses relationships in my clients' lives and improves their functioning for better health and happiness. Clients under my care learn how to unilaterally improve the functioning of a relationship through boundaries and self-confrontation. The result is individuals and relationships that thrive.

The types of counseling are various. Some are short, some are insightful, some focus only on thoughts, some strive to get the heart of emotions, some work with minor problems, some work with more severe psychological struggles. Psychotherapy can cover all of these types of counseling, but the main focus is on helping a person with a troubled mind. The trouble in your mind may be minor or complex, but in either situation you can find relief as you connect with a psychotherapist to gain therapy for your mind. Like an onion being peeled, you may find more and more relief as you experience therapy that gets to know you and provides the compassion you need.

Clients who seek therapy with me benefit from a practical, down-to-earth approach that is both caring and engaging. I strive to create a safe, supportive environment where growth feels achievable and even enjoyable at times. I employ evidence-based methods such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and EMDR trauma therapy to help you gain clarity, reduce anxiety, heal from past experiences, and build confidence as you move forward with greater peace and purpose.