Psychodynamic Therapists in Irvine, CA

I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a passion for guiding individuals, families, children and adolescents through life’s complexities. I specialize in assisting clients through life transitions, relationship conflicts, and offer support and coping strategies to navigate stress and emotional turmoil.

Experiencing anxiety, depression, and trauma can be hard to navigate on one’s own. Through the use of integrative modalities, my goal is to help you find your way so that you can manage symptoms, feel your best, discover who you truly are, and move forward in the direction of your dreams whereby your past no longer holds you back. Using warmth and compassion, I also aim to provide trauma-informed care to discuss your struggles without judgment and safely process unresolved trauma and feelings.

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist at Orange County Health Psychologists with over 8 years of clinical experience working in a variety of settings, including community services, non-profit organizations, and private schools. I am committed to creating an empathetic and warm rapport with my clients to empower them to achieve their holistic well-being. I believe in discovering clients’ strengths and insights collaboratively to overcome and manage life’s challenges.

I believe in your power as an individual. Your unique experiences and feelings are like a compass guiding our work together. I use the Psychodynamic model, where we explore your thoughts and emotions to find insights and practical solutions that truly resonate with you. I value the understanding of your individual process, and while doing so, we will also highlight the importance of relationships. Meaningful connections are the foundation of our lives, whether with family, friends, or others, all of which play a vital role in nurturing well-being.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist at Orange County Health Psychologists, I am deeply passionate about my work with individuals, couples, and families. I approach every client's individual struggles with hope and optimism that positive change can occur. While I recognize how biological and social factors contribute to mental health struggles, I believe every person that steps into my office is capable of worthwhile and lasting growth. Every person is unique; therefore, treatment will be tailored to your individual needs and goals.

I believe that emotional insights are the cornerstone of therapeutic growth. Drawing from life experience, I offer empathy and understanding to individuals navigating issues like anxiety, depression, family dysfunction, relationship conflicts, past trauma, grief, loneliness, life crises, shame, self-esteem issues, aging, body image concerns, parenting problems, and divorce. My clients seek to uncover emotional insights, foster healthier relationships, and achieve personal growth. They desire a therapist who can empathize and understand their experiences. I help navigate my clients' journey toward health, happiness, and healing.

WE OFFER EVENING AND WEEKEND APPOINTMENTS. My goal is to help you improve the quality of your life and make positive changes by reducing your Anxiety, Depression, eliminating stress, Addiction, and gaining back control. You will achieve a much higher quality of life in a safe, exclusive and caring environment. I will support you to discover your inner strength, and develop effective coping skills. You will experience freedom from emotional pain and feel empowered to achieve your goals and dreams. I provide CONCEIRGE care to executives and professionals.

I worked as a Chinese Clinical Psychologist in the city of Nanjing, China for 9 years; and a Research Psychoanalyst in Los Angeles for 8 years. Therefore, in the past 17 years I have had over 16,000hours individual therapy hours with my clients in both countries. I integrated therapeutic methods of Psychoanalysis, Existential, and Gestalt Therapy. I am bilingual (English/Mandarin) Psychoanalyst graduated from the Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles, and hope to work with clients from all culture backgrounds/nationalities.

Are you experiencing challenges dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship/family issues, and trauma/PTSD? Due to these symptoms, we can be in too much emotional pain and feel too stuck to reframe our perceptions or to find solutions to our problems. Childhood or recent trauma can cause emotional distress that can be difficult to process. I am here to support you in working through unresolved trauma and guide you toward healing. Therefore, you can feel empowered, rejuvenated, and enthusiastic about life again.

Most of us go through difficult periods in our lives where we feel overwhelmed, alone, and confused. Sometimes, inevitable events in life, even happy ones, like starting a relationship, going off to college, or retirement, expose the wounds and memories from a recent or distant past that make the current situation painful and unbearable. While we survive those situations and adapt to the new realities of our circumstances, psychotherapy, specifically psychodynamic psychotherapy uses these moments as opportunities for a path for self-discovery and a chance to reevaluate our priorities and find meaning and purpose in our lives.

We often face challenges that impede our ability to live our lives to the fullest. In our time together, my goal is to guide you in identifying these challenges and roadblocks, and develop tools and strategies to respond to your emotional needs. I aim to create a positive and welcoming therapeutic space for you to feel heard, supported and empowered. I strive to practice with collaboration, non judgment, and kindness to ensure that you feel confident to take an active role in your healing journey.

If you would like to have a free 15-minute consultation to see if I could be a fit for you, you can make an appointment at www.kristenhowertonlmft.com. I'm passionate about helping couples and families thrive. I enjoy working with clients who want to improve their relationships (even divorced couples who are coparenting.) I am experienced with working with autism spectrum, ADHD, infertility, adoption, multi-racial families, divorce mediation, and coparenting. I also have experience working with people struggling with addiction, and those who love them.

Welcome! My name is Hannah (she/her/hers). I’m an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. My passion lies in fostering healing and resilience, particularly for survivors of childhood abuse, sexual assault, abusive relationships, mass violence, and religious trauma/cult experiences. I also work with clients struggling with mood disturbances, attachment issues and personality disorders. For couples, I offer emotion-focused therapy, psychodynamic couples therapy and brief Gottman theory premarital therapy.

Ana Arellano is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who is providing services under the supervision of Tatiana T. Melendez, LCSW. Ana earned a Bachelors degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton and a Masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family therapy from Pepperdine University. Ana has completed her hours working for community mental health clinic where she focused her experience on supporting individuals experiencing a variety of symptoms and provided the understanding of the origin of behaviors, as well as learning coping skills and techniques to encourage clients.

Dr. Tobi specializes in working with young adults presenting with concerns including anxiety, family or relationship issues, relational trauma (including narcissistic abuse), codependency, self-esteem issues, and depression. She also provides psychological testing, including ADHD testing. Her approach to therapy involves a holistic and collaborative process; she will work together with you on your personal journey of growth, change, & empowerment. She integrates multiple therapeutic modalities to best fit your individual needs, including CBT, DBT, internal family systems, psychodynamic, attachment, and mindfulness-based approaches.

I am a bilingual/bicultural licensed Clinical Psychologist with over fifteen years of experience. I believe every person has within themselves the capacity for personal growth that can lead to positive changes and a healthier, more productive, satisfying life. My goal is to empower and support you through the therapeutic process by working with you to determine the best therapeutic approach to help meet your needs. I specialize in trauma, PTSD, life transitions, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, interpersonal difficulties and stress management.

A psychoanalyst and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, in addition to my general adult practice, I specialize in adolescents/young adults on the spectrum and their families; phase of life/human development issues, character disorders, and psychotic disorders. I also specialize in the treatment of specific developmental and emotional concerns of adolescents and young adults. Psychoanalytic therapy addresses your very specific needs and problems. The therapeutic relationship we develop will allow us to work collaboratively to find solutions and answers together. The more committed you are, the more change you will experience.

Do you feel as though your anxiety and depression are unmanageable? How about feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or helplessness like you’ve hit rock bottom and are struggling to find hope for tomorrow? Once we start to unravel the details of our past and trauma we give ourselves the ability to process feelings that we have long suppressed. I aim to collaborate with you and provide tools to decrease the challenging feelings you are currently facing and achieve a more integrated and balanced sense of self, leading to emotional healing and personal growth.

Whether you are grappling with trauma, reintegrating into society as a Veteran, or struggling with inner and outer stressors, you are not alone. You may seek relief from what’s hurting to build the future you envision. You might wish to mend physical and emotional combat injuries, fit into your new normal, and figure out your next move after your military experience. Or you want to deal with everything that’s going on at work, home, and within yourself to solve conflict and find a path forward. If only you had answers and a clear roadmap to follow. If only you could feel confident, empowered, and fulfilled. That’s where I come in.