Therapists in Riverside, CA

I help men and couples get unstuck in their relationships. As a man you may be struggling to feel and communicate your emotions, while simultaneously living with a great deal of stress. You may avoid conflict in order to not rock the boat. Self-doubt and an inner critic keep you feeling like you don't know where you're going (personally and professionally) and like you're never enough, leading to burnout. You want to feel confident, connected, have clear purpose, and to relish that thing they call joy. If you're a couple, we will work towards similar feelings of secure functioning. I want you two to feel safe, light, and powerful.

I have been working with individuals and couples for 20 years and firmly believe that everyone has the capacity to change and grow. Whether you are seeking help to better yourself or to strengthen your relationships, I am committed to helping you interact at a deeper level - with respect, empathy, and safety. We function best when we have a better understanding of ourselves, as well as the ability to understand others. It's my job to help you identify and achieve your goals. We will work together to discover what keeps you stuck and move into increasing your level of functioning so you can create the life you want.

I focus my work with couples, families and individuals to improve connection and secure functioning within relationships. I also work with mothers and fathers struggling with perinatal/postpartum symtpoms and parenting needs. During big life events we all need support, compassion, understanding, and sometimes guidance to return to feeling whole, connected, and allow joy back into our lives. Learning to care for yourself/partner/child and obtaining evidence based tools to improve your life is what you can gain working with me. My hope is to help you heal so you manage life's stressors and feel confident to face the world.

Working in the field of psychology for over 25 years, I’ve gained both professional and life experience. My specialties include both couple and individual therapy. I was born and raised in Palm Springs. In the past 20+ years, I’ve also become established in San Diego from Los Angeles where I completed my schooling, training and early career. I began as a social worker with in-home foster care, expanding to mental health therapy for children and family systems. Treating individuals struggling with trauma, anxiety, and depression has developed into deeper work with couples improving communication and security in their relationships.

I create a safe environment in which you can discover and actualize your true self. Finding and accessing your internal compass enables you to chart your own course and fulfill your potential. We will collaboratively set goals that advance your true self, minimize barriers that impede your growth, facilitate acceptance of what you cannot change, and allow for the redirection of energy towards what you can accomplish. So often life becomes about hanging on and weathering whatever storm comes next. My goal is for you to do more than survive. I want you to thrive.

Therapy is an opportunity for healing and transformation. You begin to feel better in your body and improve the quality of your life. Maybe you struggle with a painful loss, are overwhelmed by excessive worry, depression, trauma, or social anxiety. Maybe you are feeling stuck. Maybe you want a better marriage and more confidence in your parenting. You may feel shame and find that your ways of coping with avoidance, procrastination, or negative self-talk adds to your distress. I am passionate about helping you find a greater sense of connection, health, and meaning in your life. I know how to get you there!

I hold the sacredness of authenticity, humaning alongside other humans. I focus on working with women, particularly women of color, to show up to the brutal, sweaty, and liberating work of tending to your life while challenging oppressive systems that want humans to stay small. Together, we examine trauma and pain with self-compassion, address avoidance, build vocabulary around emotions to expand your knowing, and work together to enrich relational bonds. I would love to hold space for you! I am licensed and available to work with residents of California and Washington.

Our past presents itself in the present moment. I treat my clients, not apply a model or theory on them. Whether it is anxiety, panic, pain, addictions, trauma, loss or grief - we explore together what gets in the way of living a life worth living. I integrate Somatic Experiencing, NARM, EMDR, PACT, Mindfulness practices and Voice Dialogue into a multidimensional approach to discover how to help you realize a satisfying life, the life you want to live.

My passion for my work comes from helping you with your current problems and longstanding patterns in a caring, nonjudgmental, and insightful way. The joint learning, collaboration, and even humor on this journey inspires me, as we work as a team. I am an engaged, interactive, and respectful therapist, whether I am with individuals, couples, or groups. And coming from a multicultural family background, I celebrate all types of diversity and various points of view. My areas of specialty include trauma and PTSD; relationship issues and couples; creative clients; career transitions; and family members of the mentally ill.

As my favorite mentor says, "Nothing is more difficult than another person." Even if you are amongst the luckiest out there and find your relationship to be effortless, chances are even you have periods where you and your partner are challenged to find your way through a difficult time. It comes with the territory; relationships are hard. If you are in one of those times or are in a chapter in your story where you cannot find your way back to a balanced coexistence, it's time to get support. Do not wait. These things do not fix themselves. Finding relief now gives you a chance to enjoy one another again, sooner than later.

Sometimes it feels as though the wounds we experienced in our early lives have control over our well-being and emotions in the present. These wounded places, which often show up in our relationships can be healed and repaired. I'm here to help you untangle those past hurts, to connect more deeply with yourself and in turn with your partner. Relationships are one of the most vital and potentially rewarding ways in which we can feel both secure and alive, which is why I’m interested in helping to guide you through the work of building healthy relationships and giving you the tools to learn how to be your true and most authentic self.

I believe we are all wired for connection, and, whether extraverted or introverted, rejection and isolation are incredibly painful experiences. Our brains and bodies are built in such a way that protects us from threat and harm. While these protection instincts are necessary and helpful in the midst of threat, sometimes they can keep us from the connection we truly crave and need. If you're finding that your protectors are keeping you from relating with yourself, others, and the world around you, the counseling setting can be a safe place for practicing transformational skills to break free from the unhealthy, unhelpful habits.

I am a trauma/addiction and Couples psychotherapist with an MFT license and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. I have an engaging, active, personable style immediately putting clients at ease for a strong therapeutic bond necessary for deeper insights and behavioral change. I am trained in psychodynamic, attachment, and somatic modalities. I am a LEVEL II trained PACT (psychobiological approach to couples therapy) couple therapist as well as a facilitator for mindfulness and various relapse prevention models .

Are you seeking to learn healthier ways to be in relationship than what you learned from your family? Do you need to make sense of your story & heal from trauma? Are you tired of stress driving you, compromising your best self? I enjoy partnering with adult children of emotionally immature parents, along with anyone seeking to develop more satisfying and meaningful relationships with others and/or with yourself. I have worked extensively with parents, children, & couples to create more secure relationships. By exploring your experiences in relationships, we can help you create new relationship possibilities, too.

While curating from the recent developments in the field of neuroscience, I utilize a variety of modalities to help people re-connect with themselves and others. As a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, I specialize in helping couples re-build safety, improve communication, and decrease tension. I am also incorporating techniques from PACT Therapy: A Psycho-biological Approach to Couple's Therapy, which guides couples towards a more secure functioning relationship. Please feel free to call for a free consultation.

An ideal client is someone who is ready to do the work and be honest. If I can establish a rapport with someone and the client/s are open and honest our journey begins. I have great retention with patients because they have had recognizable change while working with me. Whether it is self-awareness, confidence, or better understanding of themselves and how they relate to others (the list goes on) they are feeling growth and development.

I assist individuals, couples & families who wish to improve their communication within their relationships, while reducing anxiety & depression reaching a more positive outlook. My concentration includes the comfort and safety of confidentiality and a setting which encourages positive solutions to life challenges. We will work.the present while addressing the past with direction. Our past is our knowledge. We have learned and earned life from the past. Self-express; say what you need to say, and mean what you say. Don't be afraid to say, yes; don't be afraid to say, no. Find your path to Emotional Freedom reaching Emotional Wisdom.