Male Therapists in La Jolla, CA

I am an empathetic, client-centered, nonjudgmental listener with a passion for health, fitness, and personal transformation. I encourage mindfulness to calm the mind and meditation to relax the soul for growth, success, and positive change. I love to combine therapy with coaching to help people reach their full potential while enjoying life with zest, peace.

With 15 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist, I’ve worked with hundreds of men, women, and children in the California area to address issues such as trauma, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, irritability, and stress. I incorporate a collaborative approach that combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-focused, client-centered, and Dialectical modalities. I meet my clients where they are and tailor treatment to meet each client’s individual and unique needs.

I help couples connect. I specialize in helping couples feeling disconnected from each other; communicate better, heal from injuries to the relationship or simply start out right in their marriages. I provide a safe structure where couples can share openly, understand why they argue and begin breaking the negative cycle they get stuck in during arguments. Finding a pathway to stay connected as a couple can change your relationship.

Are you experiencing life circumstances that are hurting your sense of well being and relationships? I’d like to congratulate you on taking the first step to reach out! This is a sign of strength and the first step in feeling better. My sessions provide insight, feedback, emotional support, depth, mindfulness, coping tools aimed to increase your ability to manage stress & personal difficulties, increase self awareness, feel validated & empowered, and strengthen relationships.

I use an eclectic approach from evidence-based techniques to support you compassionately and authentically. I support individuals to engage with life from a more centered, integrated, and fulfilled place. It can be uncomfortable, confusing, and overwhelming to look at many complex parts of ourselves alone. Unexamined, these parts can show up in our lives in different forms such as addictions, anxiety, depression, lack of self-esteem, codependency, stress, and dissatisfaction.

We believe that therapy is an opportunity for individuals of all ages from infancy to the late stages of life including couples and families to become the best that they can be. We are sensitive to our diverse community and strive to honor everyone’s beliefs and cultural values.

I have been providing psychotherapy since 2008 and I am very passionate about helping people get well. I strongly believe that all people have the ability, and deserve to, be well and happy. I also know through my work in this field, and through personal experience, that all of us as human beings will find ourselves stuck at various points in our lives and that's when we need some support and encouragement. My approach to treatment is to assist patients to find their own strengths, skills, and accomplishments and use those strengths and skills to get themselves through their current challenges.

I work with adolescents and adults with anxiety, depression, grief, chronic pain, issues of personal identity (race/gender/sexuality orientation), and life transitions (relational/ academic/professional). Navigating into the depths of who we are reveals we are so much more than what we sense at the surface. Having support on our journey can allow us to develop tolerance for our full range of emotions, gain awareness of what we feel in our bodies, discover new insights into past events, expand our ability to discuss fears, increase empathy for ourselves, experience more meaningful relationships.

Everyone, at one time or another, encounters challenging experiences which can leave a lasting, negative effect. These challenging or traumatic experiences can leave wounds of shame that can hinder one from being they're true, authentic self. Depression, anxiety, OCD, lowered self esteem and other negative effects can result. I specialize in helping people heal these wounds and resolve the negative effects which results in living a more authentic and assertive life. We will journey and collaborate together to help you achieve your goals. I work with teens, individuals, couples and families on a variety of areas.

Therapy is an important investment in you. A foundation to my approach is forming an impactful relationship committed to helping. I offer a safe space to help support you through the challenges you bring to session. My therapeutic style is from a positive place of encouragement and insight while providing support to align your goals. I work to find strength within to help you find happiness. I've worked in private practice for 13+ years as well as in outpatient treatment, community mental health, and partial hospitalization programs.

My therapeutic approach has been mainly trauma-focused. I have experience working with severe symptoms in clinical and group settings, I have experience leading both PHP and IOP groups for adolescents and adults in which we followed an evidence-based program. The program included meditation, art therapy, drum therapy, and yoga in addition to group therapy. I often use principles of Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT), especially the focus on distress tolerance to help with teaching patients and clients skills to manage stress in intense situations.

Dr. Lazar facilitates individual, family and couples counseling. He works with adults who are coping with depression, loss, anxiety, and worry and those who have present or childhood stressors that have made it hard to feel good about themselves or enjoy life. He also works extensively with kids, teens and parents to help families get along better and cooperate for everyone's benefit. In addition to working with children who misbehave, he helps kids who get sad, angry or worry excessively. He treats his clients as teammates to brainstorm solutions to challenges, and help clients also see their blessings.

We believe that therapy is an opportunity for enhancing the functioning of individuals and families because everyone deserves to live a happy and fulfilling life. We are sensitive to our diverse community and strive to honor everyone’s beliefs and cultural values offering services tailored to meet the needs of our clients.

I don't take for granted the strength and vulnerability it takes to enter into therapy; and as a clinician, my goal is to meet you where you are and help to create an environment that allows for both authentic exploration and fostering trust that there is an opportunity for healing and growth. In working together, I hope that my calm, curious, and intentional communication style helps you to feel heard, understood, and supported throughout our time together.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I make the full effort to meet my clients at their stage in life. My therapeutic approach incorporates the integration of my client’s background, self-identity, values, gender, culture, and life experiences. Working with various adults, adolescents, and families has given me the skills to provide a therapeutic experience for my clients that is insightful and non-judgmental.

People want straight talk from a psychologist, not psychobabble. They don’t want a passive therapist who just listens. Nor do they want a know-it-all to tell them exactly what to do. They want a competent psychologist who gives real feedback about what he sees going on. They want someone with real life experience who can relate to their problems as a professional, a parent or a child. Before becoming a psychologist, Dr. Evans had experience serving in the Peace Corps, running a business, getting married and having children.

As a psychologist with previous experience working in the financial software industry, I have a unique perspective into balancing professional and personal fulfillment in work and education today. The challenges you are facing may be modern and complex or may be shared throughout human existence. My approach to counseling builds from an exploration and understanding of your personal values and strengths and helps to guide your growth using scientifically validated techniques. With respectful collaboration I hope to contribute towards your healing and flourishing.

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way" Dr. Viktor Frankl Let me help you find your own path to a happier and healthier life. I am a bilingual (English/Spanish) Psychologist in San Diego, California. I provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for adults, specializing in the treatment of several disorders, such as major depression, generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Master NLP Practitioner, IFS Practitioner, Dharma Life Coach, and Sports Psychology Consultant, I LOVE my profession; my work is my passion! I feel deeply fulfilled when my support and guidance empowers my clients to achieve their goals and desired outcomes. I offer my clients my engaged presence, insights, intuition, knowledge, transformative tools and techniques, and resources to generate lots of momentum as they endeavor to grow and live their best lives. So if you’re seeking out a seasoned guide with a warm lantern to walk beside you on your heroic journey, please give me a call!!