Gottman Method Therapists in Monterey, CA

You don't need to leave the safety of your home -Let's meet for Telehealth or Video Counseling! I want to reduce your stress, and help keep you and your family safe and healthy during this uncertain time. Working collaboratively, in a way that feels supportive we will identify and reach goals in a timely manner to ensure you gain initial and sustainable relief. I offer effective support. With years of experience working in private practice, mental health agencies, and schools, I have the training, education, and experience required to effectively treat various presenting issues. Please contact me for a consultation.

Family life is both rewarding and challenging. Raising children is an important job and it can feel overwhelming at times. No two people parent the same way and how to blend two different life patterns and meet the needs of an individual child, while rewarding, can also feel frustrating. Having tools to navigate these challenges can help you feel confident and deepen your self-awareness. Working as a team with you and your child we will build on strengths and develop strategies for solving issues.

With more than 30 years experience and a degree in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Schwartz specializes in working with 1) couples, marriage, and intimacy disorders; 2) family difficulties; 3) eating disorders, 4) PTSD, addiction, and 5) sexual difficulties, sexual dysfunction, sexual addiction. His national recognition afforded him the experience of lecturing to over 50,000 therapists nationally, as well as editing three books. He specializes also in working with deeper issues from childhood. He is extremely compassionate and forms exceptional connection with his clients. Oftentimes, Typically, he works with female co-therapist Lori Galperin when working with couples.

We are a non-profit counseling agency with locations in Monterey, Watsonville, and Santa Cruz, California. Our goal is to provide high quality yet affordable psychotherapy and counseling services to individuals, couples, families, and groups. We provide services on a sliding scale, meaning that our fees are based upon your income. Our services are provided by Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists and Master's level Interns and Trainees who are under the supervision of a licensed therapist. We would love to answer any questions you may have, or schedule an appointment to meet with you. Simply call or send us an email today!

Prior to becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist, I worked as an Intensive Care Nurse and Educator. I have witnessed the importance of integrating mind, body and spirit in the role of healing. In my work I utilize techniques from a variety of theories in an attempt to identify and resolve issues you are facing. To achieve your goals, I employ Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma, Guided Imagery, Expressive Arts and Sandtray. I help clients reclaim parts of self eclipsed by childhood woundedness. My focus is to empower you to find your authentic voice and inner wisdom.

Have you spent time trying to claw your way out of a deep, dark cave of depression? Unhappiness feels scary, unfair and even shameful. We are here to help you identify patterns & behaviors you can change to realize true happiness and make the most of yourself. You will learn to recognize and accept your emotions as separate from who you are. We will identify current and past relationships that may be impacting how you experience life and work to improve your understanding of these relationships and communication to continue developing new and better connections. The most important relationship is your relationship with yourself!

Since 1992, I have counseled families, adults and children. I am an EMDR Institute consultant and facilitator, and use EMDR therapy's adaptive information processing to help clients master the challenges encountered in their lives. I received my PhD in international psychology with trauma focus. My specialties include Trauma, Acculturation and Attachment Disorders in clients of all ages. My immigration experience from Germany has prompted the exploration of the crucial part played by our cultural roots in our decision making process and in our lifestyle choices. I speak English, Spanish and German.

I wholeheartedly believe it’s my role as a therapist to assist you in realizing, cultivating, and accessing internal and external resources that you already possess. I'm here to support you in healing, reconnecting and making empowering choices to achieve peace and feel more joy on a daily basis. Stress, conflict, and pain are given aspects of this life. Together, we will create a safe space for vulnerability and strength; both are needed for change. Our sessions will allow you to move through stuck points in your mind, relationships and environment. My approach is empathic, direct, emotionally supportive and solutions focused.

Sometimes the challenges we face in life can feel overwhelming and impossible to overcome and it is my belief that through authentic human connection, compassion and unconditional positive regard one can open up new doors of self-discovery that will allow them to find meaning, purpose and healing. It is my goal to help shine light on areas of your inner experience that will foster your ability to expand your self-awareness and make life changes. No two individuals are the same, thus I strongly believe in working with you to understand what your unique experience is like and adjust my approach to meet you where you are at.

Helping those in relationships with narcissists or other personality disorders. Let's work together to find your inner voice. My mission is to help and support clients gain the insight into who they are and discover their own strengths, to find within themselves the solutions to successfully address their challenges and achieve their goals. I bring not only life experience but also a wide range of clinical knowledge in treating many issues, with special expertise in anxiety, depression, life transitions, couples work, pre-marital issues / divorce and seniors.

There may be times in our life where we encounter struggles and challenges that impact us in negative ways. We tend to change and transform accordingly, but sometimes it’s just too overwhelming to work past our struggles without support. I invite you to fully explore your life through the process of integrating your conflicting parts within yourself by processing those painful memories and identifying those harmful patterns. I believe that healing comes not only from an understanding of the past, but also in transforming how those past experiences live in our bodies.

All relationships are hard, intimate relationships even more so. So many unmet needs, unrecognized wants, can make you feel lost and alone. You just can't keep going like this! The fights are ugly, or they don't happen at all. Living at the speed of life, you have drifted apart and don't know how to bring it back together. Maybe it is just feeling disconnected, maybe it was an affair. You just know that you need help to make it better, to make it what you had dreamed it would be. The good news is that you don't have to do it alone. Tenderness and passion are just around the corner!