Therapists in 90041

Do you find it difficult turning off worry and find yourself catasthrophizing every worst case scenario? Do you often worry about your health or feel that some undisclosed illness is affecting your body? Are you finding it difficult to relax or seem to work more than usual? Did covid or a medical experience leave you fearful now of developing a terminal illness? Did you fear dying either from Covid or the vaccine as we did not know enough about either? Having myself struggled with crippling worry and low level depression, I know what its like to feel 'stuck' and loose HOPE.

Anxiety doesn’t have to be permanent problem, even if you’ve always thought of yourself as an “anxious person.” Anxiety is learned and it can be un-learned. I’d like to help you retrain your brain to be a source of comfort and positivity. With less anxiety, you can direct your energy towards things you really value instead of worrying all the time. There is no more valuable project than your well-being, and it’s well worth the effort. I use research-backed therapy and provide my clients with actionable tools, techniques, and skills to help them make progress.

Accepting new clients! 11/03/23 Any of us can be overwhelmed at anytime and seeking help demonstrates your courage and commitment to yourself. After your consultation, we will begin to develop a treatment plan to tackle those specific areas you are looking to change. Here, you will learn to look at these challenges through different perspectives allowing you to gain better insight and awareness of how they are effecting you. These first few steps of your journey are crucial to the ongoing healing you may be looking for.

My clients are high-functioning adults and couples who privately struggle with injured self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and resentment in their relationships. When, as children, we experience mistreatment or dysfunctional family dynamics, our nervous system gets impaired - making it harder for us to feel good about ourselves and harder to have fulfilling relationships. My job is to help your nervous system heal from the burdensome hurts of childhood injustices, so we can reduce any chronic feelings of self-doubt, inadequacy, and dissatisfaction. My work aims to promote emotional healing and relational transformation for my clients.

I'm Oscar Valdez, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I work with individuals on issues like anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, life transitions, substance use, and spirituality. I use trauma-informed care, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), gestalt work, Motivational interviewing, and Client-centered work and I use the internal family systems model. I am a Unites States Marine Corps veteran and aim to follow a motto that I was taught leave it better than you found it. I aim to partner alongside my clients as a means to attain this goal.

I believe that we all have the resources within us to heal, and yet sometimes we need a little help. The right connection between a therapist/client can help start that healing. Maybe your teenager is sullen and isolated. Maybe you are in love and scared to be truly seen by another. Maybe there’s an angry side of you that your family doesn’t understand and a vulnerable side that is too scary to feel. Together we can work on acceptance, healthy coping skills, and letting go of bad habits. Without judgment, we will build an understanding of who you are as a person so as to realize your strengths and fortify them.

Struggling with relationship or dating anxiety? Do your own needs take a backseat for others? Maybe you're exhausted from the whiplash of ADHD - or maybe you're in a mix of all of this and looking for grounded, compassionate guidance to help you navigate? Helping people find pragmatic solutions, sharpen their intuition, and cultivate insight and emotional clarity is my passion; and ADHD, relationship anxiety, and codependency are my areas of expertise.

Are the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness always present in your life? Have you been acting fine while there is a lot of anxiety, hurt, and anger inside? Having this mental state can be painful. Many people learn not to talk about it and get busy in their life. This avoidance can worsen their anxiety and depression. And it can develop other mental health symptoms, such as panic attacks, insomnia, and obsessive compulsive disorders. Trauma and attachment injuries are often the root causes of the issues.

Now accepting new clients. Do you work around daily feelings of depression and anxiety? Have you self-diagnosed your symptoms and tried your best to do all the things that are suppose to help? If so, therapy is your next step. Getting someone on your team, like a therapist, to help you sort and solve what is happening inside can make a significant difference. If you've never had therapy before your in for a treat. It's all about YOU for an hour every week. Your thoughts, your feelings and your needs will be held in a kind and gentle atmosphere, allowing you to relax and open to new healing possibilities.

Personal growth, depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship problems, issues surrounding sexual orientation or gender identification, life transitions or everyday life impediments are my primary focus for treatment. I draw upon your own personal strengths, talents, and desires to identify the options you have to move past the challenges you've identified and create alternative outcomes. Whatever the need, growth is a process that is worked on collaboratively in treatment. When the challenge exists between you and a loved one, treatment highlights the development of clear, honest, and respectful communication so that all parties may gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the person next to them.

In 2012, Dr. Ron Kaufman leased his first BrainPaint® computer in hopes of overcoming career-ending pain. Two months later he was fully ambulatory. He decided to see what it might do for others. He helped a veteran overcome 35 years of severe PTSD, (his psychiatrist halved his meds, then halved them again). His two sons learned were able to discontinue their ADHD medications. Their cousins enjoyed similar results. Because of his successes with neurofeedback, Dr. Kaufman opened clinics where others could enjoy the benefits of psychotherapy and neurofeedback treating anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, chronic pain and substance abuse.

Choosing a therapist is deeply personal and usually comes down to an unexplainable sense or feeling that it's right. Of course it's difficult to develop that sense from a web profile so I provide a free initial consultation to support a more personal and informed process of choosing a therapist. The catalyst for therapy is often a debilitating chronic anxiety or depression that "is not me", or pain in a relationship that we care deeply about, or an addiction that hurts the ones that matter most to us.

I believe in working collaboratively with clients and building a therapeutic relationship based on trust, honesty, and openness. I see my role as a curious, caring human being first and a clinician second. I encourage feedback and work diligently to tailor treatment to meet a client's needs, ranging from achieving short term specific goals, symptom reduction, and crisis management to long term growth work focusing on personal development, relationship patterns, and wellness maintenance.

There are times when all of us need a little outside help. You might be experiencing worry, trouble sleeping, or difficult feelings. You might be in a relationship where cycles of conflict keep you from feeling close and fulfilled. Or you might be dealing with a loss and feel unsure how to cope. Whatever brings you here, you deserve a compassionate and caring place to work through it. Together, we can gain insight into your challenges, identify and build on your strengths, and heal the parts of you that need care so that you can create the life you want.

Your path may have become difficult to navigate or there may be things that you are challenged with in your life. We can all benefit from help but asking for help sometimes can be difficult. Together we can work to uncover and discover a deeper, more aware and authentic self. There are solutions to the problems or challenges you are facing. As a therapist, I have several years experience working with individuals and family members affected by addictive patterns, substance use and abuse, depression, anxiety and trauma. I also have experience working with couples or individuals dealing with various marital/relationship challenges.

For the last 23 years, I have been working as a psychotherapist in various types of fields in both Korea and the US. Throughout those years as a bilingual therapist, I have worked with many diverse clients with different ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds, ages and issues, which obligates me to be always humble and careful given the depth of impact people could experience by sharing their pain and joy with trusted someone in a safe and caring environment.

I offer client-centered therapy in Eagle Rock and in Old Town Pasadena. Guiding principles are: that one always remains the expert on one's own life, that people have the internal resources to overcome their "stuck-ness," and that a collaborative therapeutic relationship is the key to encouraging positive change and more meaningful living. While I deal with a wide range of client issues, most of my clients are high-functioning or gifted intellectually and/or artistically. I use Rogerian, Experiential Focusing, Gestault, Attachment Theory, and Existential concepts and methods, working with clients to help them maximize their personal freedom and growth.

We all get stuck from time to time, but I feel it's important to remember that the way you feel right now is not how you have to be tomorrow. I believe therapy is primarily a change in perspective. It allows us to gain a new viewpoint of the problem that has us feeling stuck. I believe this new perspective can arise when we truly feel understood. Having an impartial witness listen to our story with attention, concern and care can lay the foundation for change.

As a post modern thinker, I believe that each person has the skills and strengths to create an affirmative narrative, that is not based on negative self-talk or unproductive messages. I like holding conversations that will spark curiosity and explore opportunities to author your new stories.