Robert Shafer, Psychotherapist in Santa Barbara, 93108

Robert Shafer, Ph.D.

Profession(s):
Psychotherapy, Marriage & Family Therapy, Counseling
License Status:
I'm a licensed professional.
Primary License:
MFT - MJ-019148

My Approach to Helping

All individuals are entitled to understand themselves and enjoy the freedom to behave authentically in daily life. In order to accomplish this, they need to resolve the inhibitions that betray their strengths. Because each person is unique, there can be no set formula for helping people find solutions and pursue their goals. As a therapist I focus on the particular circumstances presented, and help construct personalized goals by carefully and non-judgmentally attending to what is being presented. I endeavor to respond in a direct, supportive, and interactive manner, always from an empathic perspective. I believe that this is my greatest strength as a therapist. Empathic understanding helps people gain confidence and self esteem, and establishes the foundation of trust which makes growth possible. In addition to my doctorate in clinical psychology, I have trained in contemporary psychoanalysis and am in the process of earning a second doctoral degree. I have trained interns and taught therapists at the graduate level here in Santa Barbara for more than ten years.

More Info About My Practice

About Contemporary Psychoanalysis Contemporary psychoanalysis is a psychotherapeutic method which explores the client's unique, subjective experience in order to make sense of it in a way which is both deeply meaningful and healing. A wide range of people can benefit from this approach including adults, adolescents, children, families, and couples. It is a flexible mode of treatment which helps in resolving emotional problems, relieving psychological distress, and developing intimate relationships with others, and is a valuable avenue for self-discovery and personal growth. An analyst trained in contemporary psychoanalysis focuses on helping the patient understand how past experiences - - the attachments, separations, and losses which have occurred in early life - determine current-day contexts of living, working, and loving. Though derived from the discoveries of Sigmund Freud which were made a century ago, contemporary psychoanalysis is based on scientific research in child development and neurobiology and is an advanced method of psychotherapeutic treatment. Unlike the picture of a bearded professor listening in neutral silence while the patient lies on a couch, contemporary psychoanalysis is an interactive conversation in which therapist and client collaborate together in understanding the psychological patterns which are causing the patient problems. Focus on the here-and-now of an individual's experiences and relationships in the context of the supportive understanding of the analyst facilitates the development of new awareness and insight which begins to transform even long-standing and intractable patterns of painful experience.