Therapists in Manhattan Beach, CA

My passion is working with preteens, teens, young adults, couples/romantic relationships (polyamorous friendly therapist) and families. My approach is client centered, strength based, culturally sensitive and collaborative. I value creating a safe space for exploration and reaching goals. Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start. Together we can discover and explore your story and where you want it to go.

Do you need support to remove barriers and work through obstacles? Do you want to accomplish goals and live in your purpose? Do you feel highly accomplished and just need a little help in maintaining your life balance and successes? Everyday, in every way we have the ability to get better and better, and I would be honored to support you in your journey. I have a passion and purpose to be of meaningful service to others. I combine my education, professional and real world experience to provide gentle, honest, and insightful care within a compassionate, client centered, spiritual approach.

Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, feeling like your life is out of control? Throughout every phase of life, various transitions and stressors can make it difficult to navigate. Whatever is happening in your life at this moment, know that you do not have to face it alone. Whether you are needing support with a transitional life phase, setting personal boundaries, negative thinking, self-doubt, or other issues that are leaving you feeling disconnected or unfulfilled, we can work through and process these thoughts, feelings, and behaviors together.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, stressed or simply less happy? There is hope for resolution and you're here taking the first step. It's difficult to admit that we can't always come up with the solutions to feeling better by ourselves. I am here to help. My approach is to collaborate with you in improving your quality of life.Together we can find the solutions to the barriers of your happiness and gain a deeper understanding, create self-awareness, build self-esteem, regain confidence, and find your inner peace and self-empowerment.

I strive to create a warm and accepting environment so you feel comfortable to communicate the challenges you face in your life. If you are having problems with depression, anxiety or relationships, we can work collaboratively to figure out how to help you. I have experience working with children and adults with mood dysregulation and addiction issues.

I am passionate about helping clients raise their level of self-awareness and transform themselves and their relationships into the level they have always wanted. Whether anxiety, depression, past traumas or failed relationships are currently making you or your relationships feel stuck, I am dedicated to helping you discover new ways of challenging old patterns of thoughts and behaviors. You can create a renewed sense of empowerment and increase your overall sense of well-being.

I conduct psychological testing for a variety of purposes, including forensic evaluations and expert witness work, neuropsychological evaluations to assess cognitive functioning and damage from brain injury, and psychoeducational evaluations to examine whether learning disorders exist.These evaluations conclude with detailed written reports use for diagnosis/treatment planning, individualized educational plans (IEP), and criminal and civil courtroom cases including fitness for duty, workers' compensation, harassment issues, ability to parent, and professional board licensing disputes. In all evaluations. I utilize Best Practices and empirically proven instruments, and provide recommendations based on the testing results.

As an EMDR therapist at Q Psychology Group, I focus on trauma recovery. Trauma is not just an event that happened in the past, but an experience that has imprinted on our mind, brain, and body which impacts us in the present. This can interfere with the way we connect emotionally, physically, and spiritually to ourselves and to others. To aid in recovery from this experience, I look to enhance the mind-body connection so you can regain safety in your body. I do this by utilizing a polyvagal and nervous system approach, where I focus on giving you the tools to understand and regulate your own nervous system.

Especially when it comes to giving or receiving love, our chronic, unmet needs can lead to damaged relationships, depression, anxiety and obsessive thinking. We also might withdraw, abuse substances or act-out compulsively to find relief. These and many other forms of suffering often stem from denying one's true needs with a "false self". Psychotherapy, an immediate antidote to many of these symptoms, provides the conditions necessary to help revive one's "true self" and end the suffering. To have a chance at living a satisfying life, we must acknowledge and live in accordance with our true needs.

My personal style is down to earth, honest, creative and compassionate. I value authenticity in our work together and offer an appreciation for your spirituality. Therapy with me is a relaxed, safe environment where you can address your concerns and struggles. We work collaboratively in a meaning centered way in order to help you explore the obstacles that keep you from feeling more engaged, connected, curious and content. You will gain a stronger connection to yourself, a greater sense of aliveness and well-being, increased creativity and discover what it means to live authentically.

I have over 20 years experience working successfully with individual adults, adolescents, children and families. I specialize in treating depression and anxiety, ADD and ADHD, life transitions, trauma, grief and loss, and relationship issues. I work collaboratively with clients to provide insight and understanding to heal old wounds along with practical strategies to move forward. I am patient focused and able to work with different modalities and therapeutic orientations to meet client needs.

Life keeps rolling on whether we experience depression, anxiety, grief, loss, or conflicts with your loved ones. Getting yourself unstuck can be quite frustrating. For some, the challenge can create feelings of despair and hopelessness. But you can create a life that’s meaningful. Together we will collaborate on building on your existing strengths and create a new, purposeful, and worthwhile future.

As an integrative and collaborative therapist, I am passionate about weaving a creative, holistic, and trauma-informed approach into my work with you. As a former athlete and first responder, I understand the connection between mind and body, tuning into both the emotional and physical sensations you may be experiencing using mindfulness techniques.

Hello! I’m Asuka and I am here to help you create the life that you’ve always wanted for yourself. I grew up in an environment where mental health struggles were part of the daily environment, and this allows me to lend a unique compassion and empathy for each of my clients. We will work together to create a safe and healthy environment that allows you to process your emotions and feelings in a way that feels most comfortable for you. If you are looking for a therapist who can help you overcome trauma, anxiety, and depression, reach out to me for a free 15 minutes consultation.

Every one of us deserves joy, peace-of-mind, and well-being. We deserve to reach our full potential. Yet, somewhere along the way, we are diverted--oftentimes when our past burdens us, change upsets us, or unmet expectations disappoint us. Attempting to make sense of the distress, we engage in patterns that seem to comfort us, but in actuality, they move us further away from growth and the very things that have the power to fulfill us. Whatever your reason is for therapy, I aim to help pinpoint these patterns, rewrite your story, and guide you in finding your way towards the positive life aspects that you're worthy of experiencing.

I believe psychotherapy to be sacred work that can be immensely healing and transformative but requires a genuine interest to confront uncomfortable feelings and beliefs. In my experience, most psychic pain stems from a lack of connection to our authentic selves causing immense suffering that manifests into self-defeating thoughts and addictions, loss of purpose and meaning, and relational trauma. My work with clients is to unravel self-limiting unconscious processes to gain better insight and live more intentionally with greater purpose and freedom.

If you are a parent looking for support in managing a challenge with your child, tween or teenager or if you are parents looking to align on parenting strategies, I am here to offer you support. Inevitably, difficult moments arise as they are indicators of learning or growth that wants to happen for your child, your relationship or for your family as a whole. Every child or teen and every family is unique in their dynamics and difficulties so, I believe this work needs to be collaborative to find the solutions that will be effective specifically for you and your family.

I'm here to listen and help, daytime, evenings after work, and Saturdays. I treat teens, adults, couples, and families. I offer counseling and life-coaching for ordinary everyday challenges, and therapy for relationship problems, addiction issues, anxiety, depression, or a traumatic experience. I also treat those having difficulty coping with a crisis, a stressful life transition, or a painful loss due to a break-up, divorce, or death. You'll find comfort to explore these aspects and identify solutions that help you feel better, develop greater self-awareness, self-compassion, and healthier relationships.

My ability to connect with and assist individuals is an accumulation of my professional education, life experiences and interest in people. I hold a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology as well as licensed as a Marriage, Family Therapist. I spent 22 years as a Physician Assistant in Family Practice and Industrial Medicine giving me a well rounded medical and psychological approach to therapy. I find that my clients solve their problems, heal their wounds and find direction under my care, which has given me a great sense of satisfaction over the last 20+ years.

*CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS* As a LGBTQ+ Affirmative psychotherapist, I believe in assisting my clients in identifying their stressors, while exploring healthy strategies they can utilize in achieving these goals. For the past eight years I have help teens and their families improve their communication, establish healthy boundaries, and work through traumas. As a therapist who specializes in marital and premarital counseling, I help couples navigate difficult conversations and help guide them to focus on new ways to celebrate each other, reconnect, and interpret intention successfully in a safe Client-Centered environment.