Brenda Gesell, Psychotherapist in Newport Beach, 92660

Brenda D. Gesell, M.S., M.F.T.

Profession(s):
Psychotherapy
License Status:
I'm a licensed professional.
Primary License:
Marriage and Family Therapist - 43151

My Approach to Helping

Would you like to stop judging yourself so harshly? Do you feel like you are never quite "enough"? I have been helping people learn to accept themselves and recognize that they are more than "enough" for the past decade.

I have a warm, compassionate, down-to-earth style. I use a relational treatment approach and focus on helping people improve self-awareness, learn self-acceptance and create greater intimacy in their relationships.

I would like to help you develop self-compassion and enjoy your whole self - imperfections and all. I look forward to hearing from you.

More Info About My Practice

I do not take insurance and I have elected not to participate in an insurance panel. However, I am happy to provide you with a receipt of services that you can give to your insurance provider for reimbursement.

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

Many of my patients experience an inner critical voice that attacks them with messages such as: “I am not enough”; “parts of myself are unacceptable and should be cut off”. The story of Procrustes from Greek mythology speaks to these feelings. In the legend, Procrustes would offer weary travelers a bed for the night. The traveler, was however, always too short or too long for Procrustes’ bed. Consequently, Procrustes would either stretch the traveler’s body by racking it to fit the bed or, alternatively, would lop off his guest’s legs. Each of us have are own “bed of Procrustes”. That is, we have a way in which we believe we need to be or not be in order to feel acceptable. We often learn to reject elements of our personality, body or spirituality in an effort to gain love from others. Feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety, and of “not being enough” are often directly connected to our inability to accept and care for ourselves wholly and freely. Through psychotherapy, I enable my patients to breathe life into aspects of themselves that have been abandoned, lopped off and abused. Entering into psychotherapeutic treatment, though difficult, can be tremendously liberating and healing. Patients learn to free themselves from their “Procrustean bed”. In psychotherapy they discover that there is plenty of room for every aspect of their personhood. Shame and anxiety dissipate and self-acceptance and joy are the byproducts.