Dr. Wendy Eisenberg holds a Masters Degree in Marriage,
Family and Child Counseling as well as a Ph.D. in Psychology, both from the
University of Southern California (USC). She likes to say, “I work with
everyday people with everyday problems.” However, she is also a skilled
clinician who is able to diagnose and treat more complicated psychological
problems and is able to conduct psychological evaluations. Her range of
treatment is quite wide, as her scope extends from Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (OCD) and other challenging issues such as Autism, all the way to
Trouble with Mother-in-Laws and Date Coaching. She is trained as a Humanistic-Interpersonal Psychologist
and utilizes a respectful and eclectic approach.
Now, let’s switch gears and listen to what she has to say
about herself!
Hi! With all the psychobabble aside what I really want to
tell you is why I chose my profession and also to tell you a little more about
myself. If I were you- I’d want to
know more than just the academic profile of a therapist I was considering. I
always wanted to be a “therapist”. It struck me, and it still does to this day,
what an honor it is to be allowed—no, the word is invited into the very
private and sacred arena of another person’s precious life.
Many people come to me because they want to be happy. Happiness
can be a risky pursuit. It is a
feeling we all want to experience, but it is fleeting and then after
experiencing those ever- so- sweet moments of joy, we are called back to the
realities of our lives. The milk
spills, the phone rings, and then our drivers’ license expires. A more
realistic goal is that of balance and
contentment. Joy and surges of happiness are
wonderful and part of the human experience, but if one is seeking uninterrupted
happiness, they will most likely be disappointed. Life has a way of ushering us
forward regardless of our plans and we are forced to come along.
Therapy with me is unique in that it is solution focused. I
do not intend to keep you in my office for years on end while bumbling around
with various “techniques”. We set
goals together right from the beginning and work towards them at a pace that
you feel good about.
With or without a diagnosis, I never lose sight that you are
a human being who is different from all the other people I have ever met. All
of us run into bumpy times and need the perspective of a trained listener. One
of my favorite quotes by Nietzsche is, “I tell you: one must have chaos in one,
to give birth to a dancing star.”
By the way, I live with my 4 children, my husband of 25
years and a white dog named Rufus who sings when the doorbell rings.
Marriage Counseling
After working with married and
non-married couples for over 25 years, I’m pretty sure I have isolated the most
important ingredient for successful outcomes. I bet you think I am going to
say……”communication”….right?
Nope. The answer is a bit
more specific. It is the type of communication that lends itself to real
change. I believe the magical formula is teaching couples how to listen and how
to argue. I know this may seem
strange to you when you perhaps are expecting references to harmony and how to
STOP fighting. The truth is that those good marriages that are able to survive
the rigors of time are couples who have learned to be very good listeners and
know how to argue in an adult way when there is a disagreement. I teach this, as I observe how a couple
speaks to each other and assess how well they listen. Of course, there is more to it than just that….but these are the building blocks of
restructuring a marriage that has started to cause pain and in some cases great
anguish and loneliness. I often ask couples that work with me how they feel as
they come home at the end of the day and drive up their driveway towards their
home. Are they full of dread or do
they feel relieved that they are finally home? The second choice is the goal.
We all want to be loved and we want to feel as if we are loved back. Nobody
wants to be taken for granted and perhaps the worst feeling is to feel like you
are married to somebody who you treats you as if you were invisible. Ouch! Lets get working on that.