Family Therapy in Sierra Madre, CA

I support individuals, couples, and families who feel lost and alone, helping them find peace, connection, and joy in life. Together, we'll uncover and address the old messages and beliefs holding you back, so you can understand yourself and others better. I respect and embrace the intersectional cultures each person brings to therapy and the impact this has on their life. If relationships are tough, if you've experienced trauma, if you've been harmed by religion, or if you're grappling with difficult beliefs and behaviors, I'm here to help.

I am passionate about working with individuals and couples toward the goal of discovering how to access and express our deepest selves and form meaningful connections. I specialize in relationships, addiction and recovery, trauma, body image issues, and transitioning from adolescence into adulthood. I am committed to celebrating LGBTQ and gender variant people and communities and have a particular interest in working with gender variant individuals and their loved ones. I use psychoanalytic and postmodern theories in making links between subject and culture/subculture, always challenging gender stereotypes that keep us limited.

In my practice, I specialize in working with adults and teenagers navigating anxiety and/or depression. I also have extensive background working with neurodivergent (ADHD and Autism Spectrum) people and individuals who have been impacted by trauma. I believe in the power of insight and authenticity, meaning that the more we learn about ourselves and our relationships, the more we are able to take agency in our lives to live the kind of life we want to live. I value creating a safe, open, and authentic space in the therapy room.

Therapy is a delicate art and a science. Finding the right therapist is important. The connection by an understanding, intuitive professional, someone with wisdom and effectiveness, who also respects the time and the cost of your investment is valuable. I use an attachment-focused orientation, and tools from EMDR, Ego State Theory, CBT, 12-step recovery model, and other modalities. I have enjoyed a rich 25-year career as a trauma informed specialist. I have supervised and directed programs in public and non-profit sectors. Adoption is my specialty, as well as work with teens, young adults and families.

I am known for working well with individuals who are shy and who may be fearful of entering therapy. I have a specialization in the diagnosis/assessment and treatment of AD/HD and learning disorders such as dyslexia. My therapeutic approach is primarily cognitive behavioral. Pragmatism describes my approach to treatment. Management of chronic mental illness, and adjustment issues relating to ethnic/cultural/generational and religious issues are also areas which I specialize in. I believe that at times addressing questions pertaining to meaning in life can be as important as changing behavioral patterns and emotions.

I am an out-of-network provider, which means I do not bill insurance companies for my services. For additional billing information please visit my website. I offer psychotherapy for adults, and young adults, who would like to be able to cope more effectively with their emotions and life stresses, heal from difficult experiences, and improve their relationships. Whether you're struggling with depression, overwhelming stress, addiction, relationship problems, life transitions, career direction or you want to work on taking your performance to the next level, we'll work together to explore and address your concerns and challenges.

We have all felt it at one time or another. Lost. Alone. Uncertain and hesitant. Less than. The life that we want is just out of reach. In the modern world greater connectedness often rings hollow and false. We want to be connected. To be seen. To be known, deeply, authentically, for who we are in our core. We weren't born to feel the way we do, but for something more. Something better. Something we can achieve together.

Whatever your struggle, I want to help you overcome it. I am committed to offering a therapy experience that is both safe and flexible: one where you are free to be yourself, yet create new possibilities for your life. I believe that every human being bears unique gifts, and that together we can use your strengths to bring about life change. So, in addition to determining what has gone wrong, we will make use of what has "gone right." As a result, your therapeutic experience is likely to be both meaningful and "user-friendly."

Is ongoing daily stress taking its toll at work or home? Does it feel like the most important people in your life can't hear what you want or won't take "no" for an answer? Let's work together to manage stress and take control of emotional reactions and behaviors. When we're angry, hurt, afraid, or nervous we often react in ways that can make an already difficult situation worse. Or, we just freeze and it gets even bigger! It often feels like the more critical the situation, the less effective we are! We can help.

I help people with diverse cultural backgrounds to solidify healthy personal identities, locate themselves within larger communal identities, identify their values, needs, and preferences, and to communicate these in healthy and culturally sensitive ways so that they can live personally meaningful and satisfying lives, while still honoring their parents, families, and cultures. I also help clients with other concerns, including stress, anxiety, depression, career concerns, work-life balance, life transitions, cross-cultural adaptation, and intercultural relationships.

Traumatic events overwhelm our capacity to cope and lead to profound changes in the brain and body. Trauma can lead to feelings of self blame, shame, and isolation. Due to a fear that the world is no longer safe, people develop ways of protecting themselves. These defenses, while once helpful, often negatively impact the way one functions in their job, school, and relationships. Thankfully, we all have within us a fundamental need to flourish and thrive.

You are reaching out because things don't feel right and you don't feel good. Do you struggle with irritability or sadness? Maybe you have a trauma history that could be impacting your relationships, health or parenting? I can assist you in making connections between past experiences and current behaviors. I believe in the healing power of relationship and connection. So often we struggle because of barriers that inhibit successful relationships with our children, parents, partner or peers. I can help you to see where the barriers and unsuccessful behaviors come from to be able to make lasting and positive change.

Does this describe you: "I'm running on empty and living a frazzled life. I feel like I'm in survival mode." The process of exploring your inner life (the unresolved traumas, as well as the resiliency that has helped you survive) creates opportunities for you to heal. I am trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). As Viktor Frankl wrote, "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." We can rewire our brains and reprocess our past traumas using EMDR. I am currently providing EMDR via Zoom. Yes, this is possible, and it works.

I utilize a holistic approach to mental health; addressing emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being, while generating momentum towards transcendence

I believe the relationship between therapist and client is essential in understanding the underlying issues affecting one's obstacles to personal growth and happiness. It is my goal to provide a calm space and safe relationship towards that end. Working with adults, young adults and families for more than 20 years has given me a breadth of experience that I bring to the therapeutic relationship. I have particular experience with early trauma and PTSD; depression/anxiety; life transitions; addiction related symptoms; and, relationship issues.

There can be moments in our life where we are overwhelmed with the struggles we are experiencing. We can feel lost, confused, hopeless, stressed, depressed, stuck, worthless, embarrassed, ashamed, angry, the list goes on. Perhaps, you think that you can’t move on, things will never change, nobody cares, you're all alone… If you can relate, I understand why you’d want these unpleasant experiences to disappear. It can be dreadful and exhausting living with this weight on your shoulders.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do daily activities or social situations sometimes feel like they are just too much? Are you tired of the same old patterns you find yourself in your relationships - having the same argument over and over? When we are in distress we might start to tell ourselves that we are unlovable, unworthy, inadequate, alone, powerless, etc. When we believe these messages we get caught up in destructive cycles that hurt others and ourselves. My hope is to help you break down these messages; to break out of these cycles of anxiety and distress by reframing the narrative that you tell yourself and others.

Whether it is time for you to mend an emotional wound, get relief from anxiety and depression, seek the right relationship, repair the current one, or to create a larger purpose for your life, including a therapist during your journey can help you discover what is possible for you. In addition to his main therapy approaches, Rudy believes that psychotherapy can be vastly improved by integrating deeper exploration into your EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ): Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Social skills. Optimizing these primary components of EQ with your therapist can be a game-changer during your work together.

No One Listening? I will - without judgment! My clinical specialty is depression; my experience includes grief, parenting issues, anxiety, among others. You're not alone in your struggle; let's find your inner strength and attain a sense of peace/balance. Becoming a therapist was my dream come true- Let me help you achieve yours. I also have clinical experience with agency settings and in-patient psychiatric wards. Need Late-Night appointments?