Adoption Therapists in Los Angeles, CA

Due to a unique combination of both professional and personal experience in adoption and infertility, who better to guide you through your transition, adoption journey or adoptive parenting. If you have experienced infertility/secondary infertility, and are considering growing or expanding your family through adoption and don't know where to start, then I can help. If you are already a prospective adoptive parent, I can provide educational and supportive services, including monthly support groups. If you are an adoptive parent needing support with an open adoption relationship or talking to your child about adoption , I can also help.

Therapy is a process of self-discovery that often entails delving into past relationships and trauma to uncover their affect on our relationships with ourselves, our families and the outside world. My work with children, adolescents, individuals, couples and families is designed to restore trust, joy and zest and to develop meaningful connections and skills to thrive-mindfulness, authenticity and inner strength. As a Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist (DDP), I work with various subsets of the family and bring an attachment focused interpersonal neurobiological approach to create a safe and supportive environment to nurture healthy individuals, couples and families in any orientation or socio-economic status.

Are you looking for a safe space to share your feelings; to better understand your emotional self? If you are experiencing relationship problems, feel stuck or blocked, anxious or depressed, we can work together to understand these issues. Sometimes we know that things don't feel right, but can't put our finger on it. Through guided exploration, we can discover underlying causes for these feelings, and develop a more authentic connection with ourselves and with others. I work with individuals, couples, families, and adolescents.

I have specialized for the past 18 years in the treatment of children/teens/adult adoptees and foster youth, foster-adoptive parents, and birth families. I have developed unique psycho-therapeutic interventions that support children/teens with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and /or multiple placements and adoption . I work with former foster youth and adult adoptees who are struggling with grief and loss and help them in their journey through search and reunion. I educate families about open adoption . I help first mothers and fathers process grief and loss & facilitate successful reunions.

I work with clients who are creative and want to use their talent to make a difference. I also specialize in individuals and couples who have not received the necessary support, love, limits, and validation needed during childhood. I see adults who are cautious regarding a romantic commitment because they've experienced parental abuse, addiction or divorce in childhood. I'm an adoptive mother, with a specialty in adoption . I work with birth parent grief, adoptive parent child management, adoptee resolved issues, within the context of open, closed or reunion adoptions.

Dr. Jennifer Bliss is the Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services. She also maintains a small private practice working with hopeful parents going through fertility treatments, building their family through third party reproduction, and all members of the adoption triad. Both individuals and couples counseling can be provided in-person or via teletherapy.

I have over 20 years of experience working with individuals and couples who are creating their families through foster care, adoption , and third party reproduction. I work with individuals and couples who have struggled with infertility and are now considering what the next step is for them. The decision to start a family through alternative means will significantly impact your life. Alleviate the anxiety and stress involved in such an emotional decision by allowing me to assist you in navigating the family building process and help you decide on the best option for your family.

No two people are alike and neither is my approach, therefore, I work eclectically fusing narrative, somatic, experiential, and mindfulness in my practice. I am also an art therapist and enjoy working with clients who want to dig deeper through creative ways when words are not enough. I am adoption competent and an adoptee myself, and I am also LGBTQ+ affirming.

I am a licensed therapist with over 20 years of experience in social services helping families and individuals with their mental health needs. If you are looking for a supportive, empathetic listener to help you with your struggles, I am here for you. It is my passion to work with everyone from children to adults, and I treat a variety of psychological disorders including anxiety, depression, foster care/ adoption related issues, parent-child relations, and other emotional-behavioral disorders.

Imagine having new tools to deal with difficult feelings and difficult people. Imagine feeling ready and excited about what might come your way. Therapy offers you the opportunity to move forward in your life towards the goals and dreams that are most important to you. Informed by previous careers in theatre and film along with specialized trauma training (both TRM & EMDR) and my experience as an adoptive parent, I am uniquely positioned to engage challenging issues in the creative professions,trauma (both incident specific and developmental) and adoption along with the anxiety and depression that are too often part of making our way through life.

My approach to therapy is to provide the specific balance you need between support and challenge. People come to therapy at different times, for different reasons, and with different needs. Perhaps you need a space to process current or past events in your life. Maybe you know there is a difficult change you need to make. As we develop the therapeutic relationship, it is my hope that you will feel safe and supported to do the kind of work that is most beneficial to you at this time.

Welcome! I am a licensed therapist providing individual therapy to adults. Like many therapists, my approach is eclectic, based on my education, training, and experience. My education leaned toward psychoanalytic, while my work history includes many years of working with mothers/infants, children and youth in foster care, adoptive families, incarcerated individuals, and the severely mentally ill. I have specialized education in attachment theory, early childhood mental health, adoption -related issues, and CBT. I currently facilitate CBT groups for depression. My approach is non-judgmental, supportive, and active.

My goal is to provide a safe and supportive relationship which invites you to honestly explore any issues you are facing. We will discuss current problems, look at any connections to your personal and family history, as well as talk about what is working for you and ways to build on that. My ultimate goal is for positive change in the present, whatever that looks like for you. I encourage the use of outside resources such as workshops, groups, classes, 12-step programs, yoga and mindfulness practices as well as religious involvement as part of the healing process.

I have designed a practice that recognizes diverse paths to family. Because I believe each journey is unique. I respect what you have experienced and will help you discover and reach​ your goals. This mindful approach allows me to bring an open mind and heart to each situation. I offer Counseling, Education and Consultation services in the area of Family Formation, specializing in the area of Adoption . I provide counseling to pre-adoptive and adoptive parents, expectant/birth parents, and adoptees, covering an array of topics.

One of the most important aspects in therapy is for patients to feel heard, respected, and understood. I offer an active and collaborative therapeutic style that allows the opportunity for clients to learn, grow, explore, challenge and live the life they want to be living. Treatment is tailored to fit your needs and goals, drawing from a variety of therapeutic modalities such as CBT, Psychodynamic, Family Systems, and Strengths based.

Looking for a Psychologist can be an overwhelming task. I work in a collaborative way respecting each person's unique history, personality, cultural context, strengths, weaknesses and goals. I offer a warm, respectful and compassionate environment that promotes growth. I have extensive experience and expertise working with adults in psychotherapy struggling with depression, grief, anxiety, fears, trauma, relationship issues, life transitions and creative blocks that interfere with daily living in terms of creating and maintaining meaningful relationships or realizing fulfilling career goals.

Choosing a therapist is an important decision. In my experience, the best therapeutic work happens when there is a strong relationship between you and your therapist. I believe that healing happens when you are able to share your inner world with another person and feel safe and supported doing so. My goal is to create an environment where you feel seen, heard, cared for, and understood. Processing your experiences in therapy helps to deepen self-awareness, and can positively impact your mood, functioning, and interpersonal relationships.

I entered into the profession of psychotherapy first as a paraprofessional working with LA Shanti in the early 1990’s and then getting my degree in social work from the University of Southern California. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been in private practice for over twenty years. I provide supervision at the Southern California Counseling Center and in my private practice. My areas of interest are substance abuse, adoption , HIV/AIDS, and anxiety with a special focus on couple’s therapy. Additionally, I am an EMDR trained therapist and a member of EMDRIA.

I am passionate about providing the highest quality assessment services for children and adults. My expertise has been cultivated through my assessment research studies, training, and treatment of disabilities and psychological conditions. My assessment services include neuropsychological, psycho-educational, and psychological testing. I also conduct med-legal, immigration, adoption , and forensic examinations. Treatment includes parenting support and ADHD/LD treatment. I guide individuals in building functional skills to cope with challenges that interfere with effective functioning. ADHD therapy provides support, structure, feedback, and the development of skills to increase self-awareness, independence, improve concentration, time-management, planning and organization skills.

Dr. Michele Getzelman (preferred pronouns: she/her/hers) is a licensed psychologist with special interests in chemical addiction and chronic medical illness including cancer and autoimmunity. In addition, Dr. Getzelman has interests in applied sports psychology and working with those impacted by adoption . Dr. Getzelman has extensive experience in treating diverse clients with a range of concerns including depression, anxiety disorders, and addiction recovery. Moreover, Dr. Getzelman's own health history informs her interests in supporting those with health related challenges. She tailors interventions to each unique client.