Emotionally Focused Therapists in Santa Barbara, CA
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Madelyn Swed
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, MFT
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
I am a Certified
Emotionally Focused
Couples Therapist, an approach with the highest success rates in couples therapy.
Do you feel distant and disconnected from your partner? Have you been fighting more? Is your relationship missing warmth, trust, compassion, and intimacy? Are you getting stuck in the same frustrating pattern? Do you feel anxious and overwhelmed? Have you been sad and hopeless a lot lately? If you answered yes to these questions it's time to get help. Life brings us many challenges that are sometimes too much to handle alone. You don't have to struggle on your own. Get the help you need to overcome these difficulties and turn them into opportunities for healing and happiness.
Bobby Kornhandler
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
Verified
My practice in
Emotionally Focused
Couple Therapy (
EFT
) addresses this and other partnership issues when romantic relationships suffer confusing patterns and repetitive disconnecting cycles.
Are you and your partner fighting more? Do you feel distant and disconnected, lonely and truly concerned about the state of your partnership? Has infidelity got you feeling angry, depressed or anxious and is this getting in the way of your daily life, depriving you of any joy and happiness? It's time to reach out and get some professional help because trying to figure out these kinds of difficulties can be a daunting task when undertaken alone or when trying to clear out the cobwebs that make resolving partnership issues feel insurmountable. Get the help you need...now!
Holly O'Hearn
Psychologist, PhD
Verified
Verified
I integrate a variety of treatment techniques including Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT), Emotion Focussed (
EFT
), Dialectical Behavioral (DBT), and Somatic based approaches.
Whether you are stuck in self-defeating patterns, struggling with stress, anxiety or depression, or having difficulty getting your needs met in your relationships, I am ready to listen and give you the tools you need to make meaningful changes and live a more peaceful, joyful, and satisfying life.
Judith E Rubenstein
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, JD, LMFT
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
As an
Emotionally Focused
Therapist, I work with the emotion in the room to teach couples how to change their destructive patterns and to create new ways of engaging with each other which increases the emotional connection and changes communication patterns.
If you are having problems in your primary relationship you are probably feeling a bit lonely and misunderstood. I believe that each of us need love and close intimate relationships to reach our highest evolution as a human being. I create a safe, loving environment for individuals or couples to do their work to reach their highest potential. My focus is on helping you experience your feelings, physical sensations, thoughts and images, in the moment. As you claim new parts to yourself, you gradually come to accept and love a fuller and more actualized self and a deeper relationship with your loved ones.
Not accepting new clients
Debbie Allen
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified
5 Endorsed
Verified
5 Endorsed
Evidence based interventions may include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT);
Emotionally Focused
Therapy (
EFT
); Relational Life Therapy (RLT); Gottman Method & EstherPerel .
I am a warm & interactive systemic therapist who is interested in your heart & soul, focusing on strengths in an atmosphere of mutual respect & discovery. I join you or your family in a collaborative journey to explore barriers to change, discover inner resources, develop coping skills, reduce stress & experience authentic communication with the people closest in your life. My integrative and evidence based approach aims to reduce stress, heal trauma & includes family systems interventions to break through to greater purpose and joy. Curiously humble, gender affirming, and respectful of disabilities whether visible or invisible.
Monica Stoker
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC, EMDR
Verified
4 Endorsed
Verified
4 Endorsed
Through my advanced training in
Emotionally Focused
Therapy, couples find new ways of meaningful and significant connection.
Today you are one step closer to a new you, where you feel encouraged and strengthened as you make your way on a positive path to growth and well-being. I focus on counseling and therapies that produce long-term health by helping clients identify and resolve the emotional, mental, spiritual, relational, and physical root causes of the pain in their lives, while attending to their immediate concerns. It is my hope that we create a safe environment for honest sharing to gain perspective and growth.
Barbara Kloos
Marriage & Family Therapist, MFT
Verified
Verified
Personal counseling can be very helpful during a challenging season of life. I offer the opportunity to bring fresh insight and clarity into your situation in a way that is often difficult to achieve on your own. My counseling model draws from some excellent and highly regarded systems of therapy. In addition to a fundamental base in Cognitive Therapy concepts, I am an EMDR Therapist (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and am trained and experienced in Trauma Recovery. I also practice
Emotionally Focused
Therapy for Couples (
EFT
).
Diane Smith Counseling
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT, 111553, CEFT
Verified
Verified
As a Certified
Emotionally Focused
Therapist, (
EFT
), I use Dr.
Do you feel life is restricting you from who you really want to be for yourself, your partner and/or your family? My primary goal in therapy is to help enhance your ability to make choices. Our ability to notice our cycles of interaction in our relationships can help us build trust in ourselves and enhance our commitments to ourselves and our loved ones. This, in turn, allows our choices to become "building blocks" toward lasting joy for each relationship creation of our choice.
Rudy Z Ruderman
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified
Verified
I utilize
EFT
(Emotion-Focused-Therapy) for working with couples to to reclaim safety, connection, and love.
On the outside you may be strong, successful, and stoic. But on the inside you sometimes feel insecure and moody. At times you feel like an imposture, as though the face you are showing to the world is a mask. Despite working hard and accomplishing many goals your relationships and personal life are not to your liking. Depression, anxiety, and discomfort sets in when you are alone. In your worst moments you wonder if something is wrong with you. It is scary to imagine these feelings continuing, unchanged, for much longer. You don't want to waste your time. You want to be confident at work, in relationships, and in yourself.
Couples Therapy Institute
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, MFT
Verified
Verified
Trained in trauma, resilience, and attachment theory: CBT,
EFT
, somatic, transpersonal, family systems therapy.
CERTIFIED FIRST RESPONDER COUNSELOR-Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). Do you want to be happier, more satisfied, or feel better? As a therapist with over 24 years experience, I have supported clients in healing through change and personal growth. I offer a safe, confidential environment to explore emotional patterns that may be preventing clients from living up to their fullest potential. CERTIFIED GOTTMAN COUPLES THERAPIST. Experienced Rover Therapist at the Art & Science of Love Workshops facilitated by Doctors John and Julie Gottman. COMPREHENSIVE COUPLES ASSESSMENTS - ONLINE THERAPY AVAILABLE.
Micky DeSilva
Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, AMFT, LPHA
Verified
Verified
Evolution can be messy, as healing and growth are non-linear processes. Micky takes an integrative approach to therapy using mindfulness as the cornerstone, in order to support her clients on their journey. Micky uses a combination of psychodynamic, existential, person-centered and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat a diverse population, including those suffering from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, physical and emotional trauma, bereavement and loss, attachment and intimacy concerns, and chronic illness/pain. She also treats couples utilizing attachment theory and elements of
emotionally focused
couples therapy (
EFT
).
Russell A Collins
Marriage & Family Therapist, PsyD
Verified
Verified
I am an
Emotionally Focused
Therapist, and this is the work I do.
Conflict is a part of every vital relationship. If you are suffering in your relationship, it’s not because you have differences. In most cases, it’s because the way couples automatically protect themselves from being hurt - with silence, defensiveness or harsh words – builds walls between them, in an escalating cycle of frustration and misunderstanding. When even your best efforts at reconnecting just seem to exacerbate your mutual feelings of disconnection, it may be time to shine a healing light on these interactions and the hurt places that fuel them. This is the path of Emotionally Focused Therapy.
Beverly Raff
Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
Verified
Verified
I specialize in Couples Counseling. My skill is to address relationship issues such as improving communication skills, sex related issues, restoring trust after infidelity, parental issues. I utilize a gold standard protocol called
Emotionally Focused
Therapy (
EFT
) for restoring the relationship.
EFT
is a specialized couples treatment protocol to help disconnected /distressed couples find a way to communicate their needs without their asking resulting in collapsed communication. Evidence based research indicates that couples who receive
EFT
, will emerge from treatment with a high success rates (75%-90%) and low relapse rates.
Ashley Hart - Sacred Space Psychology
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
For couples, I employ
Emotionally Focused
Therapy, a scientifically proven approach to heal relational distress.
I am a California licensed clinical psychologist providing individuals and couples with effective, culturally responsive psychotherapy, to address psychological suffering, and promote optimal mental health. My professional practice, Sacred Space Psychology, is a safe place to deepen my client’s relationship with self and others and to build a life of meaning, purpose, and joy. My therapeutic approach is grounded in scientific theory through a client-centered, experiential, and multi-culturally competent practice.
Nicholas K. Bennett
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified
Verified
In couples therapy, I embrace the Gottman method and incorporate an attachment-based,
emotionally focused
approach.
I have worked with clients ranging in age from pre-teen to late adulthood and have gained experience treating depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, specific phobias, and trauma. I have served on integrative teams for parents and children in CPS cases as well as on collaborative teams providing treatment for clients residing in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Additionally, I have extensive experience working with service members and Veterans, victims of sexual assault, and individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, including transgender clients seeking gender reassignment surgeries.
Waitlist for new clients
Dahkotahv Beckham
Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, MA, AMFT
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
As an openly transgender therapist, I know it can be difficult to find the right person to confide in. Wanting to be loved and accepted doesn’t make you needy, or extra, or selfish, or weak. It makes you human. To me, you are not just some random psychology textbook or theory. In our work together, my focus is to build goals and a relationship where you feel comfortable exploring what you think, feel, want, and need. My style as a therapist is warm, relaxed, and conversational. I use playfulness, imagery, art, metaphors, curiosity, creativity, self-compassion, and humor when appropriate to support the therapeutic process.
Joan Willicombe
Marriage & Family Therapist, LMFT
Verified
Verified
Change happens all the time, big and small. Sometimes it's unexpected , and sometimes you make it happen. It can be challenging, exciting, and worth living for; at the same time, it can be scary and upsetting. Losing everyday predictability can lead to uncomfortable feelings. And yet, we're always growing and moving from one set of challenges to another; from child to adult to parent; from family life to an empty nest or being alone; from one job to another, or from active career to retirement; from being single to being committed to another, or from commitment to independence.
Chelsea D. Pratt
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified
Verified
In my therapeutic practice, I strive to empower clients in their exploration and healing of maladaptive cognitive beliefs and behavioral patterns. I feel passionate about guiding clients as they learn new, effective strategies for a healthier relationship with the self and with the world.
Matthew Charles Chung
Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, MA, AMFT
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
I specialize in helping people bring voice to their most authentic-self in order to relieve the emotional-pain, and consequence of living a life in which they feel conflicted and dissatisfied. Whether you are feeling completely lost or stuck, in one or more areas, we will uncover paths toward greater fulfillment in an fully expressed life, regardless of your current age.
Kristine Gore
Marriage & Family Therapist Associate, MA, AMFT, APCC
Verified
1 Endorsed
Verified
1 Endorsed
The gift of therapy is priceless and highly transformative. I am walking proof of the impact and have lived through tremendous challenges related to grief & loss, high conflict and toxic relationships, health scares, career challenges and changes, intergenerational trauma, raising young adults and lived experiences in different parts of the country. My therapeutic journey was led by a skilled therapist and through that learning an inherent calling to help others arose. Today, I work with clients in California and am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) as well as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR.)
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Emotionally Focused Therapists
Who is emotionally focused therapy for?
Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is for couples who are emotionally distressed, stuck in an unsatisfying relationship pattern or feeling deeply alienated. They may even believe the relationship is beyond repair. Very often, the partners display intense anger, fear, grief, loss of trust, or a sense of betrayal in the relationship. In addition, EFT is helpful to couples and individuals who have difficulty expressing emotions and those who have trouble regulating emotions.
Why do people need emotionally focused therapy?
People need emotionally focused therapy because the need for others is built into the brain, but the pressures of daily life can erode feelings of love, and couples often do not have the skills to find their way back to the comfort of each other. Instead, they may be stuck in repetitive patterns of anger, fear, grief, loss of trust, or a sense of betrayal. Emotionally focused therapy regards such strong negative feelings as expressions of protest over the loss of connection and turns them into pathways of reconnection.
What happens in emotionally focused therapy?
Over the course of eight to 20 weekly sessions, couples de-escalate their negative emotional reactivity to one another so that they can listen to each other and be responsive to each other’s needs. Then the deep emotional and physical bond is restored, giving partners a sense of comfort and security, which they can use to solve whatever problems come their way. The therapist plays an active role, helping partners understand how anger and withdrawal are actually misguided cries for connection.
What problems does emotionally focused therapy treat?
EFT is designed to help couples stuck in dysfunctional relationship patterns regain closeness and rebuild their relationship. Typically, such couples experience considerable distress, with partners feeling alienated and distrustful of one another, not certain their relationship can survive. EFT is also helpful to individuals experiencing attachment-related fears of loss; it helps them learn to use their fears as a way of eliciting the closeness they desire.