Couples Counseling Therapists in Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA

In a rapidly changing and evolving world, it may sometimes feel challenging to preserve your peace and strength. Therapy is the choice to slow down and give yourself time to reflect on what parts of yourself need compassion, acceptance, or movement to change. My aim is to empathetically and non judgmentally align with you to enliven your purpose and desires. I utilize the therapeutic relationship to foster connection and explore resiliency and attunement with the self. In working with adolescent and adult clients, I meet you where you are respectfully and provide support to help you grow towards personal goals.

The parts of us that require healing are often sites of trauma, fear or shame; my therapeutic approach creates a safe space for exploring this often painful territory, with emphasis on providing you with tools and techniques to maintain that sense of safety in both other therapeutic settings and in day-to-day life. My clinical work, is based in expertise and a passion for empowering you to meet and overcome what is holding you back.

In choosing a therapist, it's important that you feel that you and the therapist are a good match. You want to feel heard, understood and confident that the therapist can help you reach your goals. I invite you to meet with me to see if I am the right therapist for you. My approach is collaborative and integrates Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness to provide relief from anxiety, depression, and trauma. I also help people with life transitions, relationships, work stressors and family life. Lastly, I provide sports psychology skills and performance coaching to athletes, actors, and business professionals

Do you have trouble with anxiety, depression, and relationship /family issues due to trauma? Past experiences can create imprints onto your brain that activate your fight/flight responses whenever your emotions feel dysregulated, but life without the constant feeling of being on edge is possible. Those traumatic memories don’t have to permanently influence who you are meant to be. Through therapy, you will gain control of your feelings/thoughts and your response to everyday life hurdles. Healing from trauma can create healthier beliefs about yourself and your relationships along with sustainable changes.

I understand the importance of relationships and the pain and distress involved in disconnection. I empathize with how destabilizing it can feel during relationship transitions. Whether it be having children, empty nesting, career transitions or even divorces, I can help you foster collaboration and find security.

I specialize in the treatment of trauma, depression, anxiety, neurodiversity (ASD), and neurodiverse couples . Using attachment theory, mindfulness, traditional and alternative modalities (including EMDR) to personalize every treatment plan, I strive to make a genuine connection with each individual to help inform my approach.

In need of sex therapy? Lack of desire? A sex-starved marriage? Sex/porn addiction? Just not on the same page as your partner ? As a Sexuality Specialist and CSAT, I have successfully treated clients struggling with many different sexual problems (Men: erectile dysfunction, rapid/premature/delayed ejaculation. Women: low desire, painful intercourse, vaginismus/vulvadynia. Either: sexual inexperience, sexual anorexia, childhood sexual traumas including incest). I often use EMDR to resolve underlying traumas. I have researched and taught at UCLA, SMC, The University of Chicago, DePaul and have been a sexuality expert on NBC, ABC and KCAL 9 news.

Are you seeking to gain clarity and stability during life transitions? Do you want support as you navigate difficult life circumstances? Are you struggling to develop and maintain healthy relationships? While it may seem vulnerable, daunting, and liberating to share your personal journey, you do not have to experience your challenges alone. I strive to support my clients and help them find the courage to discover and be their most authentic selves.

At times, we may face challenges which can leave us feeling overwhelmed, confused, and alone. I will meet you where you are and highlight your strengths as we work together to identify patterns or behaviors that are not serving you. I understand that everyone’s therapeutic journey is different and offer personalized care and coaching as you pursue the changes that you want to see in your life. I work well with individuals and couples who seek to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression and learn healthy coping mechanisms in aiming to foster personal growth, as well as developing healthier interpersonal relationships.

With many years of experience, I facilitate client's growth through techniques designed to take people deeply into their "shadow" side while acknowledging that therapy is a relationship where healing can take place by assisting the individual in being seen for who they really are, freeing them up to be who they are, whether they have felt excluded or have been traumatized or struggling to find healthy relationships. Experience with all ages allows me to help clients with whatever issue they bring to our relationship . My ideal client has suffered a loss or failure. The pain from this motivates them to want change and growth.

I have been a practicing psychotherapist offering individual, couples and group therapy for 35 years. My private practice is located in Brentwood in West Los Angeles, adjacent to Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, California. I work with individuals, couples , and families. I help people with problems relating to anxiety, depression, relationships, grief and loss, eating disorders, abuse, major life transitions, addiction early life trauma and chronic and life threatening illnesses.

"At any given moment you have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end." If you're looking for relief from addiction, co-dependency, anxiety or depression, let me help you on your journey to freedom. With more than 20 years of experience as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I specialize in the treatment of individuals, couples and families to assist with relationship issues, post traumatic stress disorder, grief and loss, trauma and substance abuse. I provide a safe and nurturing environment that ensures the provision of high quality, personalized therapeutic care.

I help people who want help feel better about themselves, their lives and their relationships. Some seek my help because they engage in behaviors that interfere with their ability to enjoy their lives. Some seek my help because they feel "stuck in a rut," worthless, guilty or confused about their purpose. Some seek my help to improve or change their relationships or to grieve a break-up or death. Some just want a space where they can turn off their "devices" and turn inward or towards their loved-ones, in the presence of a trained professional who intends to heal.

Do you find yourself overthinking daily, repetitive thoughts holding you hostage and making your world smaller? Anxiety effects are also somatic. It drains energy, makes us tired, nervous and tense. My hope with you is to facilitate a safe space where you can comfortably encounter these feelings and begin to relate to anxiety with curiosity, openness and awareness. Psychological awareness allows us to re-negotiate how we interpret anxiety and how we relate to it.

Sometimes it can feel like everyone else is doing so much better than you are. You might look around and wonder, why am I not where I thought I would be at in this point in my life? Am I not good enough, smart enough, or brave enough? Is there someone to blame? Is it because my body is broken, or my heart, or all of the above? I know that life is complex. I know that bravery and resilience come in many forms. I want to partner with you on this journey and help you remember things that you may have forgotten about yourself. I’ve witnessed people change their lives in ways that they would have thought were unimaginable. You can too.

Change for the better is good. Yet any change is difficult. Many of us do well at managing our lives by mitigating our problems with justifications like, "It's not that bad...things could be worse." Until, one day, the epiphany hits, and we realize that we need help. I urge my patients to excavate patterns from their past that may be holding them back, so we can work toward solutions and strategies for bettering their lives and relationships.