Men's Issues Therapists in Pasadena, CA

I believe that we all have the resources within us to heal, and yet sometimes we need a little help. The right connection between a therapist/client can help start that healing. Maybe your teenager is sullen and isolated. Maybe you are in love and scared to be truly seen by another. Maybe there’s an angry side of you that your family doesn’t understand and a vulnerable side that is too scary to feel. Together we can work on acceptance, healthy coping skills, and letting go of bad habits. Without judgment, we will build an understanding of who you are as a person so as to realize your strengths and fortify them.

Are you looking to solve the problem you have been having within your family? I am here to help you get the support you’ve been looking for to improve your relationships. Help with the fights at home about homework. Help getting your child to do what they are told the first time. Help with a transition to a new stage of life. I've always gravitated towards working with youth and young adults with the highest needs because that is where I have seen I've been most effective as a therapist.

"Life is about accepting inevitable change, I can help you better negotiate those twists and turns"

Author and psychologist Alice Miller once wrote, “Consciously experiencing our legitimate emotions is liberating. Repressed emotion can be resolved as soon as it is felt, understood, and recognized as legitimate.” Dr. Miller’s words capture my work as a psychotherapist. It is my hope to help my patients legitimately experience their complex emotional worlds in order to cultivate a rich and meaningful life. Although this is no easy task, I offer my partnership on this journey toward relief and healing, both internally and interpersonally.

I work with people using the model of codependency/immaturity described by Pia Mellody of The Meadows. Looking at the five core issues of self-esteem, boundaries, reality, dependency, and moderation informs me as my clients "get their histories straight." In other words, I help people understand just how they have gotten to their current circumstances. Codependency, 12-step recovery, sex and pornography addiction, chronic depression and anger management are some of the areas in which I specialize.

I believe that nobody should be resigned to a lifetime of suffering from anxiety, unresolved trauma, feeling lost, stuck, disconnected from your partner, or like your emotions are out of control. This strife can keep you from living a fulfilling life. I have seen so many clients become tremendously empowered, less emotionally reactive, and confident in their decision-making once they have a greater understanding of themselves, their histories, and their strengths. I'm passionate about helping you gain clarity, as once these changes are taking place, my clients begin enjoying more satisfying relationships with loved ones.

I help individuals and couples understand and overcome barriers that get in the way of living a meaningful and fulfilling life; this can include professional, emotional, or interpersonal challenges. My approach draws on narrative and cognitive based principles, that value the understanding of how our experiences, self-awareness, and relationships impact how we cope with life. I believe the process of therapy is one that encourages collaboration and curiosity, and in doing so creates a hospitable environment to explore a variety of life experiences and achieve a healthy life balance.

What's wrong with me? I should have this figured out by now! But no matter what you tell yourself, you can't break free from the stress that's draining you. It pulls your energy in every direction, never caring that there’s only one of you. Meanwhile, your mind is radio-fixed on what could go wrong if you make a mistake, your anxiety growing. You need a break. Time to spend with those you love, where you can catch your breath. Peace to make confident decisions, finally getting ahead at work. The ability to turn down the background noise of your mind, embracing both rest and accomplishment. But how do you get from here to there?

Are you an INDIVIDUAL or COUPLE who's having INTENSE FEELINGS lately? Anxiety, anger, confusion, and being overwhelmed can be caused by normal life changes. Professional support can help when relationship surprises, overwork, parenting, financial challenges, or uncertainty looms.

I work with individuals and couples who have tried to grow and live a full life but find themselves stuck. Pain comes in many different forms such as trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, discrimination, betrayal, anger, or just feeling lost. This pain can be like quicksand, constantly trapping you no matter what you do or try. My specialty is working with people whose pain is made more complex by intersecting identities (Religion/Spirituality, Culture/Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ+, immigration). In addition, I have specializations in working with, multiracial people, emerging adults, helping professionals, and men.

I work primarily with men, teens, and their families. Those I work with often feel stuck in some way, whether that is stuck in a job, or in depression, or with anxiety, or negative patterns in relationships. It is a privilege to walk alongside those who come into my office, to learn their stories, their strengths, and their struggles, and to give them a safe place to learn about themselves and move toward growth and thriving.

Life losses its zeal when we become disconnected from ourselves, others, and our surroundings. It becomes even more difficult when there is a desire for change, but we just don’t know how to get what we desire most. Whether it be to learn how to smile again as we deal with our day-to-day activities, enjoy a simple walk without being bombarded with worries, deal with mishaps without going into a rage, or being able to talk to those that we love even after they wear on our nerves. That emotional burden, pain and/or fatigue can be sometimes too much to bear, whether someone be a teenager, young adult, elder adult, man, or women.

Welcome! Deciding to begin individual therapy can be confusing, intimidating and plain frightening. It takes courage to make that first step. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you have come to a place in your life where things have been more difficult to manage and you are not feeling like yourself. Perhaps you are adjusting to new life changes or were confronted with a traumatic life event. We go through life and face challenges every day and we all have found ways to manage our obstacles; however, sometimes life throws too much at us and we realize that our old ways of managing our stressors are not enough.

Welcome to my practice. I have about 15 years of clinical experience and have been featured on NBC/KCAL/HLN as an expert psychologist. I work primarily with men who have hit “rock bottom” and would like help getting up. These men are often in crisis when we first meet. The issues I address are typically related to unhealthy sexual behaviors, infidelity, financial recklessness, gambling, drugs/alcohol, dishonesty/lying, and relational conflicts. My therapy approach is a combination of psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and the 12-Step recovery model. I also share insight from my own painful but redemptive recovery journey.

"How we do anything is how we do everything." We move through life in a distinct way that was shaped before we can remember, reinforces itself everyday, and inevitably leads to the same problems despite our best efforts to change. Do anxiety and depression color your everyday experience? Has addiction taken hold of your life? Do you struggle to build satisfying relationships? Through courageous self-exploration, I can help you find compassion for yourself and come to understand why you encounter the same issues again and again. Building this understanding and taking responsibility for your life can empower you to heal and grow.

I've been helping clients for over 25 years and my love is helping people find healthy relationships, whether it is with a spouse, friend, employer or potential intimate relationship. I'm a Marriage Family Therapist and I work with many kinds of issues including how to identify and separate from toxic situations, how to heal relationships, and symptoms of depression, anxiety and anger. I will always ask you about your relationship with yourself. Are you taking care of yourself?

You know something isn't working in your life, and you want to figure out what's holding you back. Not a temporary band-aid, you want to get to the root of the problem. I work with adults and couples who want to live life to the fullest - but find obstacles in their thoughts, feelings, relationships, or experiences in their past. Together we'll confront these obstacles at your pace, without judgment.

I work with adolescents and adults who desire to work through with a wide spectrum of barriers and challenges. I have particular interest and experience working with survivors of trauma, major life transitions, depression and anxiety. I also have experience working with individuals in the arts and creative fields. I work from a model that considers the past as paramount to understanding our current functioning, and provide a supportive, empathetic and introspective space to address where my clients are, and what new options lay ahead.

Bad choices, bad moods, sexual secrets or affairs? These issues show a man off course in life and running his marriage straight for the rocks. If you’re ready for a change, we'll first identify how you got off course in the first place (usually starting in childhood), and teach you the proven and practical ways of healthy relationships. With thirty years of experience and the author of five books, I’m an expert in understanding men and how they can better relate and communicate with women. Find a better direction. Your next step is a phone call away. Call me to get started now.