Psychodynamic Therapists in Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA

Hi, I am Casey! I would love to help you lead a more connected, meaningful and fulfilled life. I know looking for a therapist can be overwhelming and exhausting during a time where you may be feeling like you need additional support. While working with clients, I provide warmth and containment as they learn to heal from trauma, chronic pain, anxiety, depression, phase of life issues or whatever may bring them into my office.

I believe that growth is a balance of tackling our short-term challenges while uncovering their long-term patterns and origins. I consider it a privilege to work alongside my clients and find out what is possible when we make the decision to explore and evolve. My approach is tailored to each individual and their goals, but I center my work around a psychodynamic approach that incorporates mindfulness-based stress reduction, somatic therapy, attachment theory, and family systems.

As your therapist, I can help you find the solutions to problems that seem impossible for you to solve. I can help you to reduce those symptoms that brought you to me in the first place. Together we can develop behavioral changes that make life more enjoyable. Once involved, you will feel less helpless, overwhelmed, or frightened. I provide a safe space in which you can articulate your difficulties, and support for the efforts you are willing to make to turn things around. From here you will find the opportunity for personal growth. Please visit http://therapy.borgardt.com.

I currently work with adults, couples, and families. I see therapy as one approach for an intentional practice of self and relational awareness. If you are feeling limited by your own beliefs, expectations or blurry boundaries with others, and/or constructs and constraints imposed by our systems, I want to help empower you to be curious about your potential and purpose in your own life and in the world around you. I like metaphors, so I'll use one now. I see therapy as a bass line, something that maintains a consistent and reliable beat in the background while you improvise, play, and experiment in the foreground.

For many, life plagued with overwhelming thoughts and seemingly uncontrollable feelings can become draining and hopeless. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I work with a wide range of populations to increase insight to overcome the “stuck” feeling we can so easily fall into. Whether it is a recent challenge or long-standing difficulties, I will provide a space for you to feel understood and supported. My approach to therapy is often laidback and welcoming of humor. My goal is to incorporate as much "realness" as possible so that our work feels meaningful and progress feels attainable.

In finding a therapist, it's important to feel heard, respected, and understood and to feel confident that that person has the expertise to help you. I invite you to meet with me to see if I am the right therapist for you. I combine psychodynamic , cognitive-behavioral (CBT), and mindfulness approaches to provide effective high-quality therapy; this means that you will develop greater awareness of your struggles while being given direct and practical guidance on how to feel better and improve your life as quickly as possible.

I focus on individuals, couples, children and families struggling with life challenges we all face from time to time. I offer a warm, nurturing environment in which you can share your concerns, hopefully rebalance situations in your life and perhaps find a sense of direction. This is best accomplished taking direction from you and in collaboration with you and your needs. The best approach to healing is to discuss your needs and together develop a plan of action. I welcome people of any kind who are in need. You will find my door and my heart open.

Are you ready to make changes? Would you like to work on understanding yourself better? Together, we will explore how your past experiences are impacting your current thoughts, feelings and behaviors. You'll come away with a an understanding of what you might need to move forward from what might be holding you back. We will work together to learn skills and develop tools that will help you manage your life in a more adaptive and productive manner. Through a caring, compassionate, and holistic approach, you will find your way to being content and living a more meaningful and healthy life.

Do you worry too much what others think, feel inadequate, and have trouble accepting yourself as you are? Are you dealing with challenging life stressors and finding it hard to cope? Are you at a crossroads in your life and struggling with how to move forward? If any of this sounds like you, I can help. I can help you develop a more positive relationship with yourself, improve how you handle stress and challenges, and make meaningful changes in your life. We all struggle at some point in life, but therapy is a powerful space where you can grow through the struggle and feel better.

Experiencing anxiety, depression, and trauma can be hard to navigate on one’s own. Through the use of integrative modalities, my goal is to help you find your way so that you can manage symptoms, feel your best, discover who you truly are, and move forward in the direction of your dreams whereby your past no longer holds you back. Using warmth and compassion, I also aim to provide trauma-informed care to discuss your struggles without judgment and safely process unresolved trauma and feelings.

I believe in the power of human connection and the positive impact of seeing the world through the lens of another as well as the importance of feeling heard, understood, and seen. I feel grateful to be able to connect with others while helping to guide them to the best version of themselves, whatever that may look like. I understand how challenging it can be to reach out for support and to begin the process of therapy, so I strive to meet you where you are and maintain a safe and comfortable environment throughout our time together. I look forward to getting to know each other and working together in order to reach your goals.

Do you sometimes have feelings of anxiety or sadness more often than you would like? Do you ever feel like you are trapped in a pattern of making poor choices in life, having no grasp of why you make these choices, and why you seem unable to choose differently? I believe that therapy is a means to illuminate your internal world, and explore what drives your thoughts and behavior. With a better understanding of where your thinking originates, you will gain a stronger foundation in which to challenge negative and/or distorted thoughts that may be holding you back.

I believe there is a natural tendency toward growth, a desire to be more of ourselves and to enjoy the things we do. For many, that curiosity and vitality has been restricted or shut down. This may lead to feeling depressed, like nothing will change for you. Or anxious, it will only get worse. Or perhaps you sense things could be different and are frustrated, not knowing how to access that new way of being. Psychotherapy is a process through which you can understand how these feelings have come about and how to access your natural tendency toward wellness.

Do the strategies that once helped you navigate challenges or survive traumatic experiences now generate more psychological pain than they alleviate? Perhaps the pandemic has simply taken its toll on you. Whatever is prompting your search, finding a good therapist is hard. I believe therapy helps us develop a more resilient and flexible way to be with ourselves, the people we care about, and what we pursue in our lives. I work with individuals, couples, and families to address a wide variety of challenges.

I believe in an active process between client and therapist where you can attain new perspectives on your life's challenges and transitions. Sometimes we are aware of difficulties we face, but need a safe environment to create the changes necessary. Our work will include unveiling the valuable gifts that your unconscious holds for you and looking at how your beliefs may be restricting you. I utilize different therapeutic approaches and tools to help you see and experience situations through different lenses. This enables you to make new and healthier decisions and live a more vital and fulfilling life.

Erin Lotz, L.C.S.W., Licensed Clinical Social Worker, earned her Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Southern California, and is a well respected Psychotherapist who integrates traditional psychodynamic psychotherapy with progressive psychotherapeutic principles of Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Erin offers practical strategies to calming our "anxious minds", facilitating greater self acceptance, freedom and inner peace.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ( Anaiis Nin ) . If you are ready to take the risk, I would be honored to accompany you on your journey. As your therapist I will provide a safe, accepting and non-judgmental space where you will be truly seen and heard.

Many of us struggle in our lives unconsciously stuck with a perspective that has helped us survive our past, but is no longer serving us in the present. I use an integrative approach drawing from Psychodynamic , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Attachment Theory and combine them with teaching new coping skills and mindfulness tools to support my clients in finding hope, peace, and healing. I help my clients explore the underlying thoughts & beliefs that may be contributing to feeling stuck in their lives. By helping release from these unhealthy patterns I hope to guide clients to better and more fulfilling lives.