Therapists in California

Animating Principle's Workshop is where compassion and critical thinking meet. From the neurodivergent, whimsical, creative minds of Animating Principle's husband and wife duo, Britney and Sean, the Workshop is a one-of-a-kind space that offers a variety of individual and group personal enrichment and therapy services. The Workshop's unique classes promote positive socialization, psychoeducation, and healthy coping for children, teens, and parents. Art, Lego, STEM, and Disney-themed coping classes available, as well as traditional, play, and art therapy for all ages.

We are empathic and experienced San Diego therapists who provide practical, evidenced-based therapy to children, teens, and adults. We work together with you and your family to provide treatment, support and guidance to help you understand and navigate the difficult or stressful situations that may be impacting your life.

I want to acknowledge the courage it takes to seek out a therapist. As social beings, we all need support and at certain times we need it more than ever. Speaking to someone you can open up to and trust, knowing you will not be judged, can really make a difference in navigating emotional turmoil, relationships, stress, anxiety, processing trauma, and making our way through major life transitions. At times we may struggle with larger life questions such as, "Who am I?" and "What is my purpose in life?" I am here to help.

I specialize in working with ADHD, HSP, and ASD. Being in our bodies- and being in our world- can be very difficult. This is especially true when when you're a highly sensitive person. My typical client often hears "you're being too much" while also dreading the feeling of not "being enough". I'm here to take a deep dive into what's making you feel like "too much" and highlight the ways you are "just enough for the right people". Typically, my client's goals are to live more comfortably in their sensitive skin, find liberation from shame, and better manage depression and anxiety.

My mission is to empower you to achieve your most fulfilling life. I provide client-centered & trauma-informed services to adults, adolescents, couples, families & teams. If you are struggling with sadness, worry, anger, intrusive thoughts, loneliness, chronic pain, career or work/life balance issues, or family or relational challenges, I can provide support. Our work together will be collaborative & will focus on achieving your individual goals. You will develop further awareness of your barriers & strengths, & learn & rehearse new skills toward increasing satisfaction, success, & connection with yourself and others.

I tend to think of therapy like tupperware. It's a safe container to unload, feel, and heal from life experiences so that we can better adapt to hardship and change. We all don't live in the same world. Many have been missed by people or systems that fell short. Whether we have a communal or a lone wolf mentality, our (dis)abilities are visible/invisible, who we love, our religious/spiritual beliefs, and, race/ethnicity all inform the ways we experience life. This is why a blend of Humanistic, evidence-based CBT & DBT theories, and traditional wisdoms, shape the foundation of my approach.

My ideal client is proactive and deeply committed to personal growth, despite challenges like anxiety, depression, or relationship struggles. They aim to understand and overcome complex emotions, often stemming from childhood trauma or life's pressures. Their goals extend beyond symptom relief; they seek to build resilience, self-awareness, and a profound understanding of their underlying issues. These individuals value active engagement in therapy, are open to exploring new perspectives, and are ready to embark on a transformative journey towards a fulfilling, balanced life.

I work with children, teenagers, and adults, and I am especially passionate about working with LGBTQ, Disabled, and Neurodivergent individuals of all ages. I am here to create an empathetic and supportive space to assist clients in exploring a range of mental health concerns effectively, including depression, anxiety, gender dysphoria, ADHD, Autism, self-harm, suicidal ideation, trauma and PTSD.

Hi there! I am a second-generation Filipinx-American therapist from Union City and based in Los Angeles, California. With experience in the home, school, and medical settings, I have provided 1:1 therapy, family counseling, support groups, Mental Health First Aid training, coalition-building, and supervision for clinicians and interns as the clinical program manager for a non-profit agency. With the understanding that wellness is holistic and the arts are healing, I am inspired by people’s stories and believe in the therapeutic elements of self-expression for personal growth and greater social change.

My priority is helping you build a life beyond your wildest dreams. I am dedicated to meeting you where you’re at, and supporting you in carving out your own unique path towards healing and self-actualization. I believe everyone has the capacity to flourish, and I aim to create space for my clients to explore what wellness looks like for them. I really get intensity and emotional sensitivity, and understand the blessings and burdens that come with diverse ways of seeing the world. I am primarily a drama therapist specializing in creative play, but also provide straightforward talk therapy.

My approach balances compassion with being direct. My clients experience care, acceptance and belonging, while also feeling challenged the right amount to grow, change and decrease suffering. I offer empathy while actively engaging my clients by setting weekly treatment goals, building coping tools/resources, and providing skills/knowledge to build self-awareness and integration. We are deeply influenced by our cultural identity and heritage. I am committed to the values of respecting and celebrating diversity, and supporting social/political policies of equal rights and opportunities.

At different times we experience unresolved situations that affect our sense of clarity, calm and balance. As a therapist and guide, together we will strive to remove those obstacles and restore hope and engagement. We can achieve this through developing goals and ways to cope that address those often unexpected and sometimes familiar patterns of living. My practice serves individual adults, children/teens, parents including parent and child therapy and elders. My wish for all clients is to find a trustworthy therapist in me. Please refer to my website for detailed education/training. karenapetersen.com

My goal is to help you be the best you possible. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will begin to deal with long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. I work with a variety of issues including autism, ADD/ADHD, Dementia and Alzheimer's, aging and mortality, grief and loss, gambling addiction, bariatric and eating disorders, trauma, anxiety issues, and OCD.

My name is Dr. Linnea Hagens, a clinical psychological associate for Dr. Tammy Dobbs. I provide personalized therapy aimed to relieve emotional distress and develop goals of improving some aspects of your life. Therapy sessions include examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced.

Life can be an overwhelming experience for anyone. Things can become especially challenging when a person feels stressed by circumstances beyond their control. Individuals who come to therapy are often very capable human beings who have experienced something in their life that has left them needing some extra support. Many times people begin therapy feeling down and lost. Through a person's work in therapy, they are often able to find some light on their path to help guide them through the pain. This shift creates an opportunity for a person to improve their day-to-day functioning and overall, they FEEL BETTER!!

For over 20 years, I have been working with children, teenagers, and young adults to develop the skills necessary to navigate through life successfully. I assist clients in developing insight into their current life situation, broaden their ability to cope with some of life's greatest challenges, nurture their resiliency and developing effective communication skills. I use a combination of play therapy interventions, Animal Assisted Human Health (therapy dogs) and traditional talk therapy in my practice. I believe in a holistic approach and will collaborate with families and providers to ensure that the best treatment is provided.

What We Do... Every person holds unique experiences, stories, and gifts. Due to trauma or other concerns, our experiences can turn into intolerable burdens. When this occurs, our thoughts can become negative, relaying disheartening messages to us. Overwhelmed, our minds and bodies become depressed, anxious, or hurt. Imagine, however, that our suffering carries meaningful messages. Through therapy that seeks to support and honor our life experiences, we can learn to express, befriend, and transform our uncomfortable symptoms. "In order to change what is, we need to give speech to what has been, to imagine what might be." Adrienne Rich

How is your heart and spirit these days? Are you connected with yourself and others or a larger collective in the way you want to be? Are you hard on yourself or filled with guilt, anger, conflict, loss? Are you feeling overwhelmed by change, or frustrated with family, friends or relationships? Do you find it difficult to ask for help from others, or say no to people? Are you in a process of understanding your gender, sexuality, neurodivergences (AudHD, Austism, ADHD, HSP, etc.), culture, spirituality, religion, illness/disability? If you're ready to connect more with the resources that are already inside you, you can reach out.

Welcome to our practice! We are experienced clinicians in Beverly Hills and DTLA available to work with adults, children, couples and families. Some typical psychotherapy concerns are relationship issues, interracial/intercultural/interfaith relationships, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, undereating and overeating, body image issues, personality disorders, infidelity, high conflict divorce, family reunification, racial trauma, parenting/child behavior problems, sexual compulsivity/addiction, sexual abuse/assault, complex trauma/PTSD, compulsive spending/shopping, LGBTQIA+ concerns, BIPOC concerns, and more.