Psychoanalytic Therapists in Westlake Village, CA

I work with adolescents, adults and couples in an interactive, relational way informed by my contemporary psychoanalytic training. I have been in the field for over 30 years, and work with a broad spectrum of patients. With compassion and understanding I hope to help you with your personal growth and relationships.

Too often psychotherapy focuses on causality, pathology and cures. However, rather than being "sick" or 'broken", often we are just lost inside ourselves or relationships. Everyone is a unique person with their own story, experience and perspective. The goal of therapy is to achieve a deeper awareness of where we are, to discover internal meaning for our many experiences, and to experience a life worth living. While working towards that awareness, I also feel it important to teach individuals, couples and families the skills needed to cope with the pain and day to day stressors that bring them into therapy.

My couples therapy work has spanned 20 years. In addition to the attraction and happiness of being a couple, there are always challenges. I use an interactional model to help you understand the sources of difficulties so that you can emerge from therapy with ways of solving conflicts. I have worked with couples who are thinking of moving in or marrying, are married or living together, are considering divorce. are divorcing or are in post divorce situations. Parenting issues are an area of particular interest to me.

I specialize in working with clients who want to resolve emotional, relational, or other phase of life changes. The way I do this is sharing therapeutic practices that serve to overcome emotional distress which, in turn, leads to unhealthy behaviors that interfere with current life goals and values. As we work together in a safe, non judgmental therapeutic relationship, negative thoughts and behaviors can be changed and replaced allowing clients to free themselves from discouragement, harmful attachments, fearful thoughts, excessive worry or feeling like they are losing control of their emotions and their lives.

I am a certified Jungian Analyst and Psychotherapist. I enjoy working with many different types of people, men and women. I take the therapeutic relationship seriously and see this relationship as a commitment to support the growth and evolution of the soul and the human being. I have extensive experience treating anxiety, depression, life-threatening illness, marital relationship issues, parenting issues, issues particular to women such as pregnancy, childbirth and rearing, assisting women and assisting women find their voices. I also love working with men, assisting them discover meaning through the therapeutic relationship.

Do you, or a loved one, struggle with the weight of depression or anxiety? There are moments in all of our lives when we feel stuck, indecisive, and confused. Life gets messy, things don't go according to plan, and there is no clear right or wrong. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life.

I am excited to offer ketamine-assisted therapy-a truly transformative healing tool. I'm an active, involved therapist, and No Bull. If you are ready to feel good again, I'm ready to help you. Anxiety can be lonely, embarrassing and scary. It seems like everyone else handles life perfectly, but for some reason, despite how smart you are, you can't get it together. I get it. Anxiety makes us play small. You don't have to give it that power any more. Let's find the place where the anxiety stops and you come through: Strong. Clear. Happy. Confident. Yourself. Because the life you were meant for is on the other side of this anxiety.

Relationships our the bedrock of our existence. I believe they are why we get up in the morning. I work with individuals, couples and families to restore and transform relationships with themselves and each other. When we aren't feeling enough, anxious or down our relationship with ourselves and others suffer. Together we look to create meaning and understanding of our feelings as well as learn ways through our therapeutic relationship to be truly yourself, a person or a couple or family with greater intimacy.

Allison has experience providing individual, group, and family therapy to adolescents and adults suffering from a variety of challenges. Furthermore, she has extensive experience treating mood disorders, trauma, depression, substance abuse, personality disorders, and dual diagnoses in various acute treatment settings. As a former Director of the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs with the adolescent population, she developed expertise in co-occurring disorders in the field of addiction and mental health utilizing a variety of evidence based practices.

Most of the time, we live our lives comfortably without interruption until one day when something shifts. It may be a health crisis or death of a loved one. Or perhaps it is a job loss or breakup of an intimate engagement. Or perhaps you wake up to realize that there is no passionate engagement in your life. Whatever the cause, suddenly the landscape of your life has changed and you set out to chart a new course.

My approach to therapy focuses on healing, connection, and emotional insight to allow individuals, couples, and families to reach their goals and improve their lives. We will work together to tailor your treatment so that whatever may be affecting you can be worked through in a safe, comfortable space. I utilize different treatment modalities like EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy and TRM to bring you the best treatment for your personalized needs. Some of my specialty areas include grief & loss, PTSD, couples and family therapy, depression, and anxiety.

EVENING APPTS. I chose a PhD in Clinical Psychology in order to help individuals suffering with the emotional pain and upheaval that life's ups and downs can bring. I enjoy a close working relationship and collaborative trust based connection with my patients, which brings the reward of personal growth and stimulates the healing process. With more than 28 years in the mental health profession, and 25+ years in private practice, I continue working to expand my education and experience to include a wide variety of psychotherapeutical skill sets.

You've known that some issues have been always holding you back from reaching your full potential in life, career, and relationships. You realize that these unresolved and unattended issues do not serve your life, and keep sabotaging your happiness on different levels... Perhaps, you even tried working through some of them on your own, but deep down you know you need some external help and guidance to heal from them. You would like to reach some peace, let go of pain, learn how to accept and love yourself better, learn some real tools and skills to be more resilient, feel strong and confident, and be able to enjoy life.

My approach to psychotherapy is collaborative, empathetic and unique to each individual's personal needs. I believe the most important component of therapy is establishing a genuine, trusting connection. I strive to create a therapeutic environment in which the clients feel respected, supported and understood in order to actively explore deep personal issues and experiment with new ways of thinking and behaving about their present and future. During our process, we will explore emotions and relationships that impact your life. Together we will clarify the development of thoughts and feelings and understand how they shape us.

First off, congratulations for making the first step towards healing, self-love, and growth. That first step can be the hardest. Are you struggling with intrusive thoughts and memories? Crippling anxiety? Low motivation? Overwhelmed with thoughts of the future? Struggling with your relationship with food? Is self-doubt and shame keeping you from being your authentic self? Are you struggling with self-acceptance and the many challenges as an LGBTQ+ member? We can work together to overcome anything holding you back from being your authentic self. We can walk this walk together. You do not need to do it alone. Don't wait, call today!

As a parent/caregiver, a certain level of stress is normal, however when your stress level becomes unmanageable, it is time to seek professional support. I help infants and their parents; individuals and their families repair the effects of trauma and stress in their lives. I believe the earlier we address emotional, developmental, relational, social and individual (behavior) functioning, the better we can assist the family or individual to make life-long changes.

The current times are hard. Trying to feel like life is normal when everything around you is not normal can be its own stressor. When you are struggling with your feelings of self-worth, fighting with the look of your body, never happy with your weight - it can start to feel scary. What will people think when they see me again after all this time? If you think about your body and your weight and your food all the time, it creates distress that is always within you. Things feel overwhelming, and you can feel like there is no way to change. I'd like to help.

There are times in our lives when we are challenged by circumstances that seem too great to navigate and bear alone. The corona virus is truly one of these times. I am offering tele-therapy through video or the phone to those who need extra support during these uncertain time. I am a trauma specialist and understand how addictions and other self-destructive behaviors mask pain. To interact with another person who can respond appropriately and share your concerns and emotional experiences can bring about meaningful life changes.