Therapists in 90001
Melissa Ramirez-Pavano
Psychologist, PsyD
Verified Verified
Los Angeles, CA 90001 (Online Only)
Welcome! I am a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed psychologist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional who provides individual telehealth mental health services for older adolescents (16+), young adults, and adults experiencing depression, stress, and anxiety due to history of trauma, chronic health conditions, relationship issues, work stress/ burnout, current events, family/generational issues, and racism. Unresolved stress and trauma can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships. Together in therapy, we will work on finding meaning, strength, and building resiliency.
Welcome! I am a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed psychologist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional who provides individual telehealth mental health services for older adolescents (16+), young adults, and adults experiencing depression, stress, and anxiety due to history of trauma, chronic health conditions, relationship issues, work stress/ burnout, current events, family/generational issues, and racism. Unresolved stress and trauma can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships. Together in therapy, we will work on finding meaning, strength, and building resiliency.
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Dialectical Behavior (DBT) Therapists
Who is DBT for?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is designed for people who experience extreme emotional suffering because they lack the skills of emotion regulation and distress tolerance. The basic affliction can underlie a wide range of conditions, from borderline and other personality disorders to PTSD and treatment-resistant anxiety and depression. The therapy is helpful to those whose emotional reactivity is so intense it is disruptive to everyday functioning and leads to frequent crises.
Why do people need DBT?
The ability to regulate emotions is a core psychological skill that enables people to function in life and pay attention to the world outside themselves; it is consistently associated with well-being. DBT is designed to help people learn how to manage and regulate their emotions. Originally developed to treat people with borderline personality disorder whose extreme emotional suffering led to self-harming behavior and suicide attempts, the therapy is now applied to other conditions involving emotion dysregulation, particularly when other treatments have failed.
What happens in DBT?
Individuals meet weekly with their therapist to discuss their experiences relating to moods, behavior, and skills. Using checklists they maintain, they review emotional experiences and positive practices they engage in. The diaries help individuals discern what led up to a specific problem encountered, this is followed by discussion of the consequences of their actions. In addition, individuals may meet in class-like small groups to learn skills such as mindfulness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
How long does DBT last?
Because it is intended to establish long-lasting behavioral change among those with persistent problems, DBT is designed to last six months to a year. DBT includes both weekly sessions of individual therapy and weekly skills-training sessions conducted in small groups. Studies of DBT have documented improvement within a year of treatment, particularly in controlling self-harmful behavior; nevertheless, individuals may require therapy for several years.