Therapists in 90740

You’ve been putting everything into your job and relationships since you can remember and you are TIRED. Tired of saying yes when you already have too much on your plate, tired of the exhausting task of managing other people’s lives, and just plain tired of not having enough room for YOU in your life. It’s been so long since you prioritized your own needs that you aren’t even sure what having time for yourself would look like or how to get it. Part of you is terrified that people won't like you if you start saying no to their requests and part of you even feels guilty delegating some of these tasks.

I am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Certified Sex Therapist, and hold a PhD in Somatic Psychology (body psychology). This unique combination of credentials facilitates a focus on clients' cognitive process as well as mind-body health. I work with a diverse client base including women, men, couples and gender-diverse individuals on relationship and sexuality issues. My treatment specialties include: recovery of sexual health after sexual trauma, sexless marriages/relationships, compulsive sexuality (often called "addiction") and non-traditional sexual expression including fetishes and redefining monogamy.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and stuck? Everyday life is hard to manage? You know something has to change but you're not sure where to begin? Have you experienced trauma or painful moments that seem hard to control and let go? At this point you've probably noticed challenges in your relationships and work or school. It may be hard to see but there is a life in which you wake up feeling good and excited about what you can do compared to dreading what you have to do. Working through these challenging times can be the key to creating the life you want. I'm here to help you find calm, focus, and control in your life again.

My clients are often those who want to understand their ADHD or autism better, who have been dehumanized by treatment professionals in the past, who are frustrated by vague therapy answers, who fear they are "too much" or "too different". Overall, those who want to find the beauty in the darkness rather than denying the darkness, and who want to sit crooked and talk straight. I have particular passion for serving those with complex body relationships due to trauma, gender dysphoria, body image disturbance, disability, and systemic oppression.

If you're reading this it is because you have the courage to seek guidance and support to deal with the current challenges in your life. Therapy creates an opportunity to find healthy ways to cope, to empower and to heal. I work with individuals experiencing depression and or anxiety. Life presents problems that we see as obstacles but they can also be opportunities for growth and change. Therapy helps see solutions and options and to learn how to make better choices for yourself and your loved ones. In addition, because animals are an important part of my life and maybe yours, I offer consultations and letters for support animals.

Sometimes life can get complicated.We can get overwhelmed by people, work, and life events, and it seems this bombardment of people, places and things, never lets up. We do our best to manage it all, but in the end we are still emotionally distressed, and sometimes severely.The old ways of coping with it all no longer work. It's time to STOP FOCUSING ON THE PROBLEM AND START FOCUSING ON THE CHANGE. It's time to take your life back and be in control of your well-being. TIME TO BEGIN CRAFTING AND ACTUALIZING LIFE'S MEANING (C.A.L.M. THERAPY)

Personal discovery and growth is one of life's greatest challenges but also provides one of life's greatest rewards. Through my own healing journey to address childhood trauma, I did many years traditional talk therapy. While I found this to be helpful, it wasn’t until I discovered somatic experiencing (SE) therapy that I began to experience a deep settling in my body and mind in a relatively short period of time. This settling of the nervous system can lead to a newfound sense of feeling present and engaged in life. One gains more capacity to experience positive emotions, tolerate negative emotions without becoming overwhelmed.

Do you desire inner harmony, life satisfaction & greater joy in your life? Are you ready to heal from your emotional pain & enhance the quality of your life and relationships? As a compassionate therapist, I can guide you along your healing journey. I am dedicated to helping my clients succeed, experience inner peace, self-acceptance, joy, hope and love. I am intuitive, empathetic, multicultural & multilingual with over 10 years of experience. My specialty areas include: anxiety, PTSD/trauma, attachment issues, depression, addiction, relationship issues (couples and families), grief & loss and self-esteem issue for adults, children & adolescents.

I enjoy working with adults and couples from the diverse background. I specialize in working with API clients struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, depression, unresolved past trauma, marital/relationship challenges, navigating identity, life transitions, grief, and intergenerational trauma. I specialize in helping interracial couples to repair/improve their connection and communication. I'm bilingual with English and Japanese, and can offer sessions in either or both languages. I understand how the interplay between our cultural identity and family background can play an important role in our experience of the world.

I understand the importance of needing to feel understood and seen. When therapy is successful, we often will experience a greater sense of spaciousness inside ourselves, freedom from our own judgments, and are reminded that confronting our pain won’t destroy us. The goal is not a short-term fix but instead a long-term shift that brings forth feelings of empowerment, resiliency, and a confidence that our brains and our lives can change. As a consequence of shifting our relationship to ourselves and to our pain, the uncomfortable symptoms often associated with anxiety, trauma, and depression begin to dissolve and loosen their grip.