Therapists in 90254

Welcome to my practice. I have been in practice since 2007 and have been featured on ABC, NBC, and KCAL as an expert psychologist. I work primarily with men who have hit “rock bottom” and would like help getting up. These men are often in crisis when we first meet. The issues I address are typically related to unhealthy sexual behaviors, infidelity, financial recklessness, gambling, drugs/alcohol, dishonesty/lying, and relational conflicts. My therapy approach is a combination of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and the 12-Step recovery model. I also share insight from my own painful but redemptive recovery journey.

Welcome! As a licensed psychologist, certified perinatal mental health provider, and specialist in infant/early childhood mental health, I enjoy helping families and children from birth through the elementary school years. I specialize in parent-child relational challenges, anxiety, behavior problems, postpartum depression/anxiety/adjustment, and testing and evaluation.

Everyone has within them the ability to attain personal growth by gaining insight into their unique strengths. During times of stress, this inner resilience can be called upon to guide them in discovering purpose and meaning in their lives, improving interpersonal relationships, and adapting to healthier patterns of relating to others. I take a collaborative, yet challenging approach in assisting children, adults, couples, and families on their path towards positive change. I use a solution-focused exploration of current struggles to help them break unhealthy patterns and develop coping skills and a sense of hope and strength.

Dr. Jake Insler is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in high-performance, mindset and mental skills training. He utilizes a mindfulness-based approach towards improving performance, and overall mental growth. Whether the goal is to build confidence, manage emotions, increase focus, build calm, perform under pressure, be more optimistic or develop resiliency, working with Dr. Jake is an overall growth experience. He has experience working with athletes of all levels including olympic and professional. As well as business professionals looking to level up their game. He also has extensive experience working with anxiety.

Dr. Shari Giti is a child & adolescent psychologist and the Clinical Director of South Bay Child and Family Therapy--a comprehensive psychological practice in Hermosa Beach and Torrance/Palos Verdes. At SBCFT, Dr. Giti provides child, teen, and family therapy. She also specializes in psychological, educational, and AD/HD, assessment services. In addition to training and experience in child therapy, Dr. Giti completed a prestigious fellowship in Child/Adolescent Assessment and Diagnostics. She works hand-in-hand with educators, physicians and other treatment team members to ensure the highest quality care for her patients.

I have had over 15 years experience impacting the lives of children, adolescents and adults with emotional disturbances and often extensive trauma histories. The symptom presentation can range but often the cause is a mixture of biological factors and environmental stress combined with an inability to effectively process and deal with these stresses. I create meaningful working relationships, even when someone may be skeptical of the benefits of therapy. I then work collaboratively to improve coping skills and the ability to handle challenging situations with minimal to no impairment today and in the future.

As both a therapist and professor at the University of North Florida, I specialize in young children and parenting. I help families facilitate a healthy, loving relationship with each other while helping children learn how to feel, process, and communicate feelings. This leads to more connection and understanding of themselves and others. As a parenting and play therapist specialist, I work with children of divorce, anger, tantrums, trauma, sibling rivalry, anxiety, depression, academic difficulties, and self esteem issues.

I work with children, adolescents, and families who are experiencing a wide variety of presenting problems. My approach to therapy is supportive, genuine, and collaborative, which allows children and adolescents to reach their fullest potential. I have worked with children and teens for over ten years across a number of settings, including community mental health centers, psychiatric hospitals, schools, and private practice.

If you are ready to overcome your unhealthy habits but don't quite know how to do it, I am here to help. Just by being where you are you've already come such a long way. How do I know? Because most unhealthy habits and dysfunctional behaviors cocoon themselves in shame and secrecy. But you don't have to hide anymore: I'm here to help you gain the skills, the confidence, and the power to stop this self-destruction. I helped many of my clients become unstuck and reconnect with themselves and others.

One of the most important aspects in therapy is for patients to feel heard, respected, and understood. Given that each individual is unique, and no one issue is ever the same among different people, my approach is integrative and tailored to meet the needs of the person, not the "problem". I strive to create a compassionate, non-judgemental environment for patients to learn, grow, explore, challenge, and to live the life they want to be living. I specialize in working with adults - individual, couples, and family - with anxiety, depression, PTSD/trauma, relationship problems, substance abuse, ADD/ADHD, and LGBTQ issues.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I enjoy working with children, tweens, teenagers, and young adults, from a Play Therapy and CBT perspective.

I can remember lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling, worried about the everything. It didn’t matter what was going on in my life - I was constantly worried. Anxiety had a grip on my life, slowly tightening more and more every day. When my friends would call, I could hear the disappointment in their voice as I made up another lame excuse about why I couldn’t go out time and time again. I could feel myself slipping further and further away from the things that truly mattered to me - friends, family, and fun. I watched everyone else happily living their lives but I was stuck on the sidelines of my own. Why couldn’t I be more like them? Happy… Carefree… Unafraid… Relaxed… Why was I trapped in a vicious cycle of anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear? I knew it was taking my life from me and finally, I got to the point where I said - NO MORE. I worked 1-1 with my own therapist. Ultimately, I got my life back. No more fear… No more saying “no” when I wanted to say “yes”... No more watching my life slip by without me really living it…

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.

I'm Dr. Dean Leav, licensed psychologist and qualified medical evaluator (QME). I've been featured on ABC, NBC, KCAL, and other programs as an expert psychologist. I provide Evaluation Services, including (and not limited to): diagnostics (ADHD, Autism, Learning Dis.), cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations, workers' compensation (QME/AME), immigration-related evaluations, pre-adoption psychological evaluations, parenting/bonding assessments, drug & alcohol evaluations, pre-employment evaluations, and legal/forensics/criminal evaluations. These evaluations may be used to meet eligibility for certain services or accommodations.