Emotionally Focused Therapists in Santa Monica, CA

QUALITY & EXPERIENCE I strive to be the most well-trained therapist I can be, and provide an atmosphere of privacy, safety, and trust. Beyond my Ph.D., I have certificates in Psychoanalysis, Group Therapy, and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). I am a Certified EFT Supervisor. My experience with couples and individuals includes hetero and same-sex clients. After years in Santa Monica, I now work only via Zoom, serving people in CA and NY (Licensed in both states). Fee range for 2024: individuals, 45 minutes ($225-280), 60 min ($310-370); Couples and Adult Children & Parent(s), 75 min ($385-445) or 90 min ($480-540).

Based on the approach of EFT (Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy), I help couples tune into themselves and each other with their emotional landscape, examine their relationship pattern (the dance), de-escalate the negative cycle, and create healthier patterns of communication and interaction to improve emotional bond and connection. Have you two been arguing, escalating somehow to get your needs met, and then getting disconnected, withdrawn, and falling into a lonely place of helplessness and despair? If so, your relationship might need some help to find a way back to each other.

My passion is in body psychotherapy. Clients enjoy our work connecting their body/inner strengths and their mind/rational strengths to achieve growth. My clients value the kindness, compassion, and safety I create, so they feel comfortable and heard. I have success working with clients that experience trauma and PTSD, grief, stress, anxiety, depression, conflict with others, life transitions, and parenting issues. Caregivers and family members of cancer patients find working with me helpful, healing, and nurturing. Clients that are not comfortable just talking really appreciate the tools I give them.

I believe growth happens best in the context of supportive relationships. Consequently, my style is dedicated to fostering trust and rapport between us, establishing a therapeutic space where you can cultivate self-acceptance and self-compassion. My approach to therapy is nurturing, warm, and open, and my aim is to guide you towards discovering more moments of joy, hope, and peace in your everyday life. In our collaborative journey, we will reflect together, explore patterns, and unearth core beliefs. I use a strengths-based approach, building upon the strengths you already possess.

Being human is exciting and beautiful... and challenging! My work is grounded in respect and empathy for how individuals, couples, and families pave a path in life. Together we make change possible by bringing your unique, personal knowledge and experience into awareness, and then moving through the stuckness of painful trauma, unkind thoughts, or feelings of powerlessness before problems. Together we will work to reconnect you to the whole experience of being human: feeling emotions, attuning to thoughts and beliefs, creating healthy relationships, and recognizing your whole life story in its complexity of joy, sorrow, and growth.

Are you experiencing feelings of anxiety or depression? Is your mood affecting your relationships or career? Sometimes life's challenges become difficult to overcome alone. I offer free phone consultations to see if my practice might be the right fit for your needs. I have diverse training and experience working with adults, adolescents, couples and families. While there are no guarantees of what you will experience, therapy has shown significant benefits for most people who go through it. And being here, on this site, is an important first step.

Being a human these days is hard, and even more so when you get into complicated dynamics with your relationships, job, or family. Perhaps it's all feeling like too much? Or maybe you have a hunch that you can live a fuller life? Reaching out to a therapist does not mean that you are broken; it means that you are ready to evolve. With my background in art and extensive therapeutic training, I offer a dynamic healing experience that addresses old patterns in both mind and body. I can provide a supportive and creative space for you to explore yourself, practice relational skills, and grow into a life that you truly want to be living.

My Therapy Corner is a boutique practice helping individuals and couples heal through a trauma-informed, attachment-focused lens. We work primarily with individuals struggling with anxiety, big and small traumas, addiction, relationship problems, attachment wounds, etc. We work with adults 18+ and couples. It's important to us that you feel very comfortable in our sessions. We are on this journey of your healing together and our style is collaborative and warm. Together, we can work on letting go of past traumas or anything else that's been hurtful to you and your relationship.

Nurturing, strength-based and compassionate, I am an active and directive participant in my clients' work- whether working with individuals or with a couple . We together will identify what brings you to treatment, be it depression, anxiety, PTSD, marital distress, or simply discomfort. We will articulate where in your life you are struggling- interpersonally, at work, within your family system or in your marriage, and develop goals to relieve that distress. It can be challenging to choose to participate in therapy, and I work to create a safe environment so we can engage and address the issues that are challenging you.

I am happy you are here! Lotus flowers bloom after traversing through thick layers of mud. My goal is to help you understand blockages in your life holding you back from living an authentic and full life, help you make sense and create meaning from your experiences that propel you forward with purpose! My clients face anxiety/depression, life/career transitions, complex family/relationship dynamics, trauma related to dysfunctional dynamics present across family/professional/social/intimate relationships, families navigating divorce, individuals healing from narcissistic abuse, and parents looking to improve their parenting skills.

Life can bring challenges that are difficult to move past. Feeling stuck, powerless, or fatigued makes sense as you do your best to overcome what’s happening. Meeting responsibilities to family and friends often adds to the burden. I understand the territory of struggling to find a clear sense of direction or motivation, especially after loss. Together we can face these difficulties, and support you in growing into a more aligned version of yourself.

I help clients who feel lost, confused, and anxious. Navigating the complexities of being human can often lead to these feelings. Different life experiences present unique challenges, prompting questions like: Am I content with my relationships? Am I heading in the right direction? Am I happy and comfortable with myself? Is this the life I want to live? I believe that you possess the answers and wisdom within you, and I am here to help you uncover them.

For many people life can go through periods of intense difficulty, pain and suffering, and it can feel overwhelming. My practice focuses on understanding these feelings with the hope of decreasing the distress. I work collaboratively with my clients believing they contain all the wisdom they need to heal and that together we will help you access it. I work and am trained in several models; psychodynamic, internal family systems, attachment theory and emotionally focused therapy.

During this difficult time, you may need support. I care and want to help you through life's challenges. Therapy is beneficial whether you are seeking to address current or long-term issues. Your emotional health can improve. Therapy can positively transform the course of your life. I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in individual, family and couple’s therapy. I have a Ph.D. and master’s in psychology and a master’s in Alternative Dispute resolution. l work collaboratively and transparently to create real and lasting results. I keep up to date on the latest treatments relevant to our goals.

I understand that life's transitions often come with the obvious changes in ones perspective, in ones relationships, and in ones lifestyle, but transitions also come with more hidden emotional changes. These usually surface as sleepless nights, fights with people you care about, mood instability, and a feeling of sadness or dissatisfaction with life. On your own, it is difficult to untangle the complex puzzle that underlies these ongoing issues and acknowledge these emotional changes. Together we can uncover the root of your emotional challenges using emotionally focused therapy in a compassionate and supportive environment.

My practice is founded on the principle that therapy is not about fixing something that is broken. You are not broken. People do not need to be fixed.

We are all capable of greater joy and intimacy in our lives. Partnering with the right therapist can be an important step towards that personal growth. Whether you're struggling with marital issues, lack of intimacy, infidelity, parenting concerns, the grief over the loss of a loved one, or feelings of depression, anxiety or despair, you are not alone. My intention is to help you develop clarity about the nature of your experiences, awareness of your strengths and challenges and empowerment in your daily life. Through this process of exploration you can move towards an enhanced confidence and more gratifying, loving relationships.

It can be so difficult to make that first step towards change, joy, gratitude, health, prosperity, fulfillment, love, deep connection and more. If you have made it to this page then you have already taken the first step. By gaining insight and understanding into what drives our decision-making process, we have the opportunity to create real, effective and long lasting change.

I specialize in cutting edge techniques that work at the level of the unconscious mind to help gently and efficiently shift unwanted patterns of behavior. We often don't realize that the way we respond and perceive things in the present is due to past programming. This programming not only creates a blueprint for who we choose and how we behave in our intimate relationships but also determines our ability to cope with stress and deal with painful emotions throughout our lifetime. The techniques I use and teach my clients work especially well with anxiety, phobias, depression and trauma.