Psychoanalytic Therapists in Montrose, CA

Hello there. I'm glad you're here, Helper/Caregiver, who has a difficult time finding time for yourself and accepting your own needs. I'm glad you're here, Millennial, who is navigating "adulting" and relationships. I'm glad you're here, Creative, who sees the world poetically but struggles with self doubt. This is the place for you if it's all just too exhausting, depressing, lonely, and stressful, and you need help discovering or rediscovering you- your joy, your hope, your spark.

My name is Jorge J. Alvarez and I am a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist and Licensed Educational Psychologist. I enjoy working with a wide range of people who are interested in improving their lives through in-depth exploration of emotions and behaviors which impact personal, social, occupational, and family relationships. As a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, I enjoy working with individuals suffering from trauma, anxiety, and depression. I also enjoy helping individuals meet goals through increased focus, motivation, and empowerment.

Let me help you be as successful in your relationships as you are in other areas of your life. This is one of the greatest challenges we will ever face - to achieve intimacy and have self-understanding. I sincerely believe (and see!) the effectiveness of therapy and I love guiding you from trauma to transformation! I appreciate how hard it may be to seek counseling, and, I greatly respect my clients' willingness to sort through the difficulties in their lives in order to develop better insight and achieve the skills to create long-lasting change.

Deciding to come into treatment is never an easy decision even when it feels necessary. I work from a psychoanalytic-psychotherapy approach meaning I'm most interested in what your experience is. What that means is that through careful listening and dialogue, I'll work with you to better identify and understand what may be behind painful symptoms like lack of impulse control, binge eating, depression that's so heavy you can't get out of bed, or the terrible grief that comes from losing a loved one.

The most fascinating and important part of my job as a therapist is how to have a really good conversation. It may sound too simple, but it cuts to the heart of what to expect from therapy. Through good conversation, you experience connection and understanding. When we are understood, difficult feelings change with resulting freedoms to engage life. Trained both as a Marriage and Family therapist and a psychoanalyst, I work with complex relationship issues, divorce and blended families, depression, anxiety, addictions, men's issues, and sexual trauma recovery, and integration of psychology and faith/spirituality.

I bring to the treatment setting over thirty years of experience as a licensed psychotherapist , first working with families and children who have experienced trauma, then as a graduate psychoanalyst with expertise in recognizing and treating unconscious patterns that play out in current relationships and behaviors. Every situation is unique, and difficult problems must be deeply understood to effect lasting change. Together we will identify and work through the underlying dynamics that contribute to your current concerns. Psychodynamic work is beneficial for those who have an interest in, and a capacity for, self-reflection and personal growth.

We are a multi-specialty group of mental health professionals in a private practice setting. We are comprised of highly skilled and highly educated therapists. Our professionals are distinguished by their exceptional level of compassion and care. We are here to help you free yourself from the situations you feel stuck in and find your path to greater happiness and fulfillment.

Welcome to a space where understanding meets expertise, and healing is not just a destination but a transformative journey. I am Lara, the owner of Heal the Hurt Counseling and we are a group of dedicated trauma specialists . If you are seeking a therapists who combines empathy with proven therapeutic approaches, we are here to guide you through the path of healing and renewal. If you are seeking a compassionate allies to navigate the healing process, you've found the right place. We bring a comprehensive set of trauma informed skills and a profound commitment to your well-being.

Reach out now, I have some valued in-person appointments available. I am a licensed psychologist and board-certified art therapist who has helped adults and families thrive for 30 years. My approach is strengths-based, collaborative and empowering. I enjoy helping you make sense of past experiences, live fully in the present moment, and dream about the future. I combine my understanding of psychodynamic, developmental, neurobiological and traumatic stress theory with my experience and intuition to nurture healing, growth and connection.

I recognize how challenging it can be to make sure our basic needs are met without neglecting our mental health. I applaud your bravery in taking the first big step towards a happier and healthier version of yourself. I understand that the healing process is never a straight line. Some days look and feel great, while other days seem impossible to get through. My goal isn’t to provide you the “perfect” life, instead I wish to assist you in garnering the tools necessary to approach difficulties and challenges in a healthy and productive way.

I'm called to work with clients who are ready to embark on a new journey in their lives. This journey will entail really looking into themselves, their environment, their history and really being honest with themselves about how they would like to navigate themselves so that they are in the best place they can be. Their goals are to be the highest version of themselves as they can be just for the sole purpose of living a satisfying and fulfilling life.

You're here for a reason. Perhaps, you've undergone trauma, both in the big sense or little sense, and maybe it just happened or it happened long ago. Your relationships aren't working because you're working so hard to make sure that you're not traumatized again. Now you're stuck. Maybe you and your significant other are in a difficult place, and you can't find resolution. In fact, you can't even talk to each other.