Therapists in Santa Cruz, CA

I am open to and welcoming private pay clients in this new year of 2022. We are all capable of change and more contentment in our lives. I enjoy working with young adults to elder adults, couples, and families. I honor the opportunity to work with people who are seeking to explore life challenges and increase a sense of strength and ease. Together we address past and/or present circumstances creating barriers to a more content life, and create practices and strategies that increase satisfaction, contentment, ease, and enjoyment of life.

I have a straight forward, strength-based, humanistic approach to working with my clients. I believe you have inherent strengths and transformational healing abilities no matter how much pain or suffering you may experience. My goal is to support you to discover and harness these abilities to access healing, freedom from suffering, and a deeper inner knowing.

Welcome! My approach to therapy is an eclectic and collaborative approach that will meet your individual needs. I enjoy working with adults, children, couples, and families. I will value your perspective and work collaboratively with you while providing support and guidance in achieving your goals. Together we can create a therapeutic relationship that offers self-awareness, acceptance, insight, resources, and the integration of past and present experiences. Such integration can provide you with a sense of mastery and confidence that will help you regulate your emotional and cognitive responses in your everyday life.

Hello! I’m so glad you found me. My approach to therapy is to engage the whole person in order to make meaningful change. Movement in therapy can range from focusing on breath to self-lead movement expression, and can be used with any age and ability. Artistic expression is used to deepen the therapeutic work through the creative process. All engagement in art is optional. I view my clients holistically and utilize the knowledge I gain regarding their life history and their social atmosphere to guide them in therapy. I work collaboratively with my clients to make meaningful change, respecting my clients’ individuality and autonomy.

Hola, It is very normal to feel fear and anxiety when seeking help, but if you take the next step we can work collaboratively to help promote growth and healing moving forward. I utilize a strength based approach and a solution focused model to help strengthen the skills you already have while developing more effective tools to manage current stressors. Throughout my career, I have learned the importance of self-determination, meeting clients where they are and providing a safe space to process emotions and unresolved issues.

Welcome to my practice. I have been in practice since 2007 and have been featured on ABC, NBC, and KCAL 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.

Are you stuck in patterns of fears, confusion, indecision, or painful relationships? This stuckness and suffering hinder you from accessing the empowered, expansive, creative, organic self within; this essential part of you wants to express the unique gift that you are, and the gifts you bring to the world. Imagine beyond your struggles or limitations to become who you are truly meant to be, being more authentic, having more fulfilling relationships and manifesting your passions. Whether you are looking for further understanding, or personal tools or deeper change, I am here to support your journey.

I specialize in child therapy, individual therapy, and relationship counseling. I work with children and adults to realize goals that will support healthy behavioral patterns, and I work with family systems to promote interconnectedness. I offer a variety of tools that will support you to develop effective emotional regulation tools, communication skills, and to help you to recognize your inner strengths. Every person is unique, and therefore therapy should be as well. We can explore what is going on in your life right now so you can build resiliency in the face of challenges.

Welcome. If you’re reading this, it probably means you are looking for something different. If you are looking for individual therapy, I believe I can be of best support to those who have already begun their healing work and are ready to dive deeper. This might involve utilizing current high-tech approaches like Internal Family Systems (IFS) or Somatic Therapy (e.g. Hakomi), as well as mindfulness and present-moment focused therapy, or possibly delving deeper into your psychological history. However, I am confident, ready, and willing to meet people wherever they are at on their journey. Additionally, I enjoy working with couples.

Feeling overwhelmed, scared, alone, isolated? Unable to express or tolerate your emotions? Therapy can help you take back control of your life, improve your relationships, and manage your moods. It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a new life challenge or a recurrent issue, I believe that therapy can help relieve your symptoms and live a stable and balanced life. I work with adults and adolescents struggling w/ a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, trauma, and substance use disorders. I offer a supportive, safe and non-judgmental place to explore, understand and resolve issues.

Are you are unhappy with aspects of your life, struggling to break free from old patterns, and unable to move forward? My approach is collaborative, supportive, non-judgmental, and based on your unique needs. I work with a wide array of concerns including anxiety, depression, relationships, self-judgment, loss and grief, addiction and compulsive behaviors, trauma, spirituality, and purpose. I am trained in Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy and have helped many clients recover from food, body image, and exercise addiction issues by reconnecting them to their emotional experience rather than their obsessive thoughts.

Do you want to stop repeating unhealthy patterns and live a life that brings you an increased sense of joy, calm and health? We can work together to address past traumas, decrease your feelings of anxiety and/or sadness, change addictive habits and improve your relationships. My approach is collaborative, experiential, emotionally focused, person-centered and sometimes even fun. I have been a marriage and family therapist for over20 years and have success in providing compassionate and supportive therapy. The basis of my therapeutic approach is to create a safe environment based on trust and respect.

I am dedicated to working with children, adolescents, and adults seeking to deepen their connection to themselves and others. I aspire to support you in embracing your unique strengths and values to tend to the more challenging aspects of yourself and your life. I will witness all the moments from the tender to the fierce with compassion and equanimity during sensitive and bold explorations of inner and outer landscapes to access and express your authenticity and wholeness. I wish that you find the freedom and agency to live the life you envision.

Feeling misunderstood and not quite right? Experiences with trauma, depressions, anxiety can be variables influencing how we feel. I understand trauma and struggles with mental health issues. I am here for those who want to do their best for themselves and in their relationships. I welcome clients who want to be better caregivers to themselves. This includes anyone dealing with depression, anxiety, addictive behavior, unprocessed childhood experiences, PTSD or failure to create healthy connections with others. My offer also extends to those experiencing parenthood with a new born infant or an adult child.

​I provide experiential sex & intimacy coaching, as well as group facilitation, to help get you out of your head and into your body, to explore what connects you to your pleasure and allows you to step into your power.

As a trauma-informed somatic psychotherapist I strive to create a safe space for you to develop a deeper understanding of the beliefs, behaviors and experiences that impact your wellbeing. My practice is non-pathologizing and I honor the complexity and richness of your story. I believe in your ability to heal under the right conditions and I work with clients who are ready to stoke the fires of change and explore what it means to live authentically. I use mindfulness, Hakomi and IFS strategies to help deepen your exploration, address unhealthy patterns and integrate practices that support however you want to live in the world.

Welcome! May I walk beside you as you continue to uncover, untangle, embody and enliven your life's purpose? I seek to be witness and ally to your own personal life's journey. C.G. Jung states, "Every advance; even the smallest, along the path of conscious realization adds that much to the world".

You or a loved one may be struggling with substance use, depression, anxiety, loss, or life transitions (emphasis on the life part). Maybe you just need someone to ask you how you are really doing and be able to hold space for that. You may try talking yourself out of your pain or experience by telling yourself “someone else has it worse” or “I don’t deserve to be happy after everything I’ve done”. We often tell ourselves that our feelings, conflicts, or stories must look a certain way for them to deserve attention. I am committed to allowing you to show up to therapy exactly as you need to without making any changes.

Welcome! I commend your strength in taking this step. As a therapist, I believe my role is to serve as a mirror that reflects all of your strengths and humanity. As relational beings, we hurt, heal, and grow through relationships; the therapeutic relationship is no different. I foster a safe space to explore and understand your patterns and experiences. We look towards the present to find what you would like to change to step further into your authenticity and fullness. Together we cultivate the tools and skills that will help you find healing and ease.