Therapists in Santa Barbara, CA

Accepting new clients. I treat clients who struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, depression, relationship conflicts, and life transitions. I find that so many of my clients feel overwhelmed by their anxiety and panic attacks and don't know what to do to help themselves truly feel better. The good news is there are so many strategies to overcome anxiety that you can learn! My clients have made enormous strides in conquering anxiety and other emotions that hold them back.

I'm Dr. Dave Botsford, a clinical and sport psychologist and the owner of Mountain Minded Performance Psychology in Santa Barbara. My primary area of expertise is working with athletes, coaches, and teams from youth to elite levels, helping individuals to refine the consistency of their performance and elevate their training outcomes. Currently, I work with many collegiate student athletes from University of California Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College, as well as various high school athletes, professional athletes, and non sport performers e.g., musicians, providing performance consulting and counseling services.

Have you ever felt too overwhelmed to deal with your problems? Are you stuck in the past or thinking too much about the “what if’s” of the future? Do you want to improve your relationships?

Are you frequently worrying about things you can’t control? Do you tend to talk negatively to yourself or feel like you aren’t enough? Are you concerned about relationship issues? Being a human today is hard and people come to therapy for many different reasons. It can be challenging to manage all the aspects of personal, professional, and family life, leaving self-care and wellness on the back burner. I am committed to helping women and couples improve communication, feel better, and live well. I value the importance of building a trusting and collaborative relationship and know that finding the right therapist can be hard.

Life does not proceed as we each envision it. It can be unexpected, messy, complicated, disappointing, tragic, and challenging. In countless ways we strive and struggle. We can feel ourselves to be adrift. Yet we are connected, radically interdependent. Even so, we all have our own perspectives on life and our struggles. We are tethered to our environment, our social roles, cultural identities, interpersonal, historical, professional experiences, and so on. Through exploring this web, and the various vantage points that the web offers, a unique therapeutic process emerges for each person.

My goal as a psychologist is to help you live a more meaningful, vital and fulfilling life. I provide compassionate and effective therapy that will help you learn new skills and launch you in the direction you want to be moving in your life. Foundational to my approach is a collaborative partnership, where positive transformations evolve in a warm, safe environment. I have worked extensively with clients who struggle with depression, anxiety, eating concerns and unhealthy habits. I also work well individuals who are going through major life transitions, relationship problems or want to revitalize their lives.

I provide adults, adolescents, couples, and families with humanistic, client-centered services. I available for in-person session in Santa Barbara. Online appointments are also available for California residents. If you find yourself wanting more from your life, I will make sure that you have the tools, guidance, and inspiration that you need. I am a culturally compassionate clinician, and I welcome and celebrate diversity.

Therapy can be a weekly reminder to slow down and listen. If we’re in a great deal of pain, it can be a place to tend to our wounds. If we’re in a place of confusion, it can be a place to remember who we are and who we are not — or discover ourselves for what feels like the first time. Therapy, over time, can teach us how to live and how to live well.

Do you wish that aspects of your life looked differently? My work focuses on helping individuals shift unsuccessful patterns in order to achieve a desired goal. I work with people who are struggling with self esteem issues, communicating in relationships, social anxiety, depression, anxiety, and mood instability. I offer my clients a safe and confidential atmosphere to comfortably express their feelings and speak freely. The therapeutic relationship is a healing one, a place where the client can be open and honest and receive unconditional support from the therapist.

Life can be incredibly painful, and at times we can find ourselves confused, lost, anxious, and seemingly alone. We cannot have a pain-free life, but there are ways of managing the issues in our lives that help us be more present, connected to our values, and fulfilled in that which we do. Whether it is anxiety, depression, relationship issues, or trauma, there are ways to respond to these so that we can move back toward the lives that we want to lead.

I am a collaborative therapist who works with clients to identify their priorities and goals. We will work together to create a plan to achieve what is most important to you whether it be seeking deeper connections in relationships, more fulfilling professional pursuits, or simply being more confident and experiencing feelings of greater well-being.

Let’s work together to move your life forward. There are things that get in the way of living a full and happy life. These obstacles often come from things in our past, current relationship challenges or other circumstances that seem to be out of our control. Therapy can help people deal with these issues and can be your first step towards a happier and more fulfilling life. I bring compassion, understanding and hope to my therapeutic work. I truly listen to your concerns and understand the issues that you are trying to resolve. I seek to develop a therapeutic approach that meets your unique needs.

I believe the therapeutic process is a collaborative way to discover healthy coping mechanisms, reduce stress, and increase personal happiness and well-being. Confidentiality, respect, and compassion are inherent to my process. I have over a decade of experience treating adolescents, adult individuals, couples & families. By integrating various therapeutic approaches such as Strength’s-Based Strategic, Solution-Focused & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I am able to provide well-rounded, evidence-based support to promote positive change.

My goal as a therapist is to provide a comfortable setting that allows you to get the greatest benefit from our work together. In addition to traditional office sessions, I offer flexible solutions including phone, teletherapy, or home visits. Emotional issues can trigger or make a significant contribution to anxiety, skin conditions, skin picking issues and hair pulling (trichotillomania) issues. Relaxation, visualizations, and a mixture of cognitive behavioral therapy and body-focused psychotherapy can make the difference. You can take more control by discovering how to manage your emotional triggers and by developing strategies to alleviate anxiety, skin issues, skin picking, and hair pulling.

A person comes to therapy when their present ways of being in relationship, or in the world, no longer seem to hold the meaning they once did. My aim is to support you in creating a new foundation of hope, purpose, and meaning in your life. I help people seek wholeness through the integration of mind, body, and soul, thus expanding their current level of understanding, and in so doing, creating the capacity to live more meaningfully.

Our quality of life is determined by the quality of our relationships. Whatever your goals may be, change is an inside job, and I'm here to be both a witness and a resource in that complex process. When we can let go of shame and judgments around emotions, we allow space to cultivate more curiosity, compassion, acceptance, resiliency, and joy. When we utilize mistakes as informational gifts we can strengthen and clarify the authentic self. I would like to help you meet this self.

Nancy's counseling work focuses on adults, seniors, families and couples who struggle with addictive disorders, anxiety, trauma, grief or depression. Nancy's 25 years of practice and experience provide you the opportunity to develop and bring into focus your very best self. Her proficiency and specialties are in providing tools and skills to support recovery from addictions, grief & loss, trauma, and the relational challenges that so often accompany these life challenges, with the intent and hope to facilitate the recognition of your own strengths and your ability to participate, fully, in your own life and those of your loved ones.

Realizing there are times that are too overwhelming to handle on your own is scary. My approach to psychotherapy is to create a warm, nonjudgmental, and safe environment that supports children, families and adults through whatever life circumstance they are struggling with. I encompass a gentle yet direct approach with my clients, and ensure every unique individual diversity is honored and respected. I draw upon therapeutic modalities that help the individual re-establish a relationship with their lost inner strengths and opening new perspectives that foster more self love and compassion.

Life satisfaction hinges on the quality of past & current relationships because we grow in relationship with others. This is what therapy is all about. I work with adults, adolescents, college and transitional-aged clients to unearth the roots of inner distress, expand awareness, curiosity, energy and empowerment. Life is not rigid, it flexibly ebbs & flows. Growth, while scary demands a surrender of outdated beliefs and behaviors, leaving a familiar comfort zone. But guess what? You will not be alone.