My approach to helping people is relational, non-pathologizing, instilled with hope, collaborative, active, and appropriately challenging in a respectful way to help you set and meet your goals. I bring multicultural awareness and sensitivity to understanding your subjective and unique personal experiences. In developing our therapeutic alliance, which is essential to our work together, I will provide a sensitive, thoughtful, and genuinely supportive presence with openness and positive regard. I offer a place where diversity is embraced and where you can feel truly heard, understood, and acknowledged with acceptance and without judgment. Within this safe, empathic space, you may discover, articulate, experience, and honor your feelings and lived experiences, as well as heal, increase self-awareness, and tap into your innate abilities, strengths, and resilience to navigate current challenges or highlight the choices and opportunities available to you in realizing change and personal growth at work, play, and in your daily life. I have experience working with individual adults, couples, adolescents, and older adults. It is my honor to accompany you on your courageous journey toward lasting positive change and increased personal fulfillment.

You're the one everyone leans on. You remember the birthdays, smooth over the tension, and say, "I'm fine," before anyone finishes asking. But inside, it's a different story. You replay conversations, looking for what you said wrong. You stay quiet about what you need because asking feels like too much. Somewhere along the way, being easy to love started to feel safer than being truly known. If that sounds familiar, you're in the right place. I'm Dr. Kayla Sykes, a licensed psychologist, and I work with women who are really good at taking care of everyone else, but terrible at letting anyone take care of them. Maybe it shows up as anxiety in your relationship, dread before a first date, or resentment you can't quite say out loud. Maybe it's burnout from a career, or a season of motherhood, that asks for everything you've got. These patterns made sense once. Often, they were the smartest way to stay connected growing up. They just aren't serving you anymore. In our work together, we'll get curious about where your people-pleasing and relationship anxiety come from. Then we'll practice something new: noticing what you feel, saying what you need, and tolerating the discomfort of being seen. My approach is attachment-based and relational. When you want something practical to take into your week, I draw on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and compassion-focused tools. We can focus on what's happening in your relationship right now, or go deeper into the patterns that keep you from feeling truly seen and loved. I bring warmth, compassion, and a good amount of humor to our sessions. I'll also gently point it out when you start people-pleasing me, because therapy is one place you don't have to perform. I see clients throughout California by telehealth, so you can do this work from wherever you feel most at ease. If something feels off, you don't have to figure it out alone. Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation, and let's talk.

Has your relationship become an angry, sad, or scary place leaving you feeling alone, hurt, and discouraged? Are you and your partner feeling lost in conflict cycles you don’t understand and desperately want to change? Many of the couples I work with come to therapy feeling just like you. I understand how much courage it takes to reach out for help and to let another person get inside your relationship, especially when you are feeling so vulnerable. If you are searching for a safe place to explore what's not working in your relationship, and support in creating solutions, I can help.

You’re likely here because the life you’ve worked so hard to build feels difficult to enjoy. You perform being okay, but on the inside, you’re overstimulated. You’ve spent years striving and the exhaustion felt in your body, reminds you that there has to be more to life than self-sacrificial endurance. You’re in need of a full body exhale, and support along the path to lasting change. You have a right to receive effective, unconditional support. Especially, as the world is so turbulent and full of chaos. You’ve tried to handle it on your own for far too long. In our work together, I'll help you embrace a more honest and rested way of being. Imagine making decisions without second-guessing yourself, setting boundaries without guilt, feeling less responsible for everyone else's needs. Life can be more fulfilling when we have effective care to help us unburden our bodies while addressing unresolved traumas, relationship challenges, complicated grief, big life transitions, perfectionism, and impostor syndrome cycles. As an EMDR Certified Therapist & Certified Integral & Enneagram Coach, I personally know the support it takes to get past stuck places like your freedom and well-being depends on it. You can expect me to be compassionate, attentive, and honestly direct. I offer online video and phone sessions. Just visit my website or text to schedule!

I have specialized for over 20 years in helping smart, successful men understand why their most important relationships are so difficult and then help them to move forward feeling more oriented, confident and secure. I bring my professional and personal experience to the table. I'm a daughter, a wife and the mom of a son. I bring my compassion, genuine care along with straightforward (but kind!) honest feedback designed to help you grow. I'll ask you to dig deep and explore new territory but we will also keep an eye on simple, practical tools that can help now.

I believe that each of us has an innate ability to move toward our individual full potential. However, many factors such as past experiences, fear and a desire to remain in the familiar, often keep us from doing so. Often an addiction or self destructive behavior is a part of this struggle. If you find that you are feeling "stuck" or know what you need or would like to do but cannot seem to do it, I can help. Addictions affect the whole family. However, family members are often so worried about their family member they can feel held hostage by the very person they love and care about. If you feel this way, I can help you learn tools to take back your life and avoid helping that person maintain their behavior. I specialize in helping individuals and couples move out of "stuck places". I help family members reclaim their power and set limits with an addicted or otherwise out of control family member. I help persons in recovery learn more about themselves and how to manage or resolve difficult situations without resorting to using again. I use EMDR and other methods to help people move forward after traumatic experiences and heal from them. Please inquire to see if we might be a good fit to work together.

As an integrative therapist, I draw from different psychotherapy orientations. This allows me to tailor therapy to your needs and to create a truly collaborative process as we decide where we''ll go and how we''ll get there. Since successful therapy depends on a strong relationship between client and therapist, my first priority is nurturing that bond by creating a safe and supportive environment. I believe therapy is most effective when it is flexible, demystified, and client-centered, so you can expect me to be transparent about my ideas and approaches. My style is at times infused with humor and is always warm and direct. You are already the expert on you. As your guide and advocate, I''ll help you develop the insight, curiosity, and courage to create the life you want, whether you are looking to reduce anxiety, feel more joy, or release the past. If you are facing sadness, anxiety, trauma, or dependence, finding and contacting a therapist is likely a daunting process and a huge leap of faith. Congratulations on taking the first steps -- you''re already closer to your fullest life and your truest self.

Are you beginning to think you have a problem with alcohol or other drugs? Are your friends and family members concerned? Have you experienced painful consequences due to drinking or drug use? You may be confused wondering which step to take next. Many people manage painful feelings by using drugs and alcohol; thinking about stopping can feel overwhelming. Others want to consider harm reduction before sobriety. Maybe you're in-recovery already and seeking a therapist knowledgeable about addictions. I'm a substance abuse specialist, as well as a licensed Marriage Family Therapist. I've worked with people struggling with alcohol and drug use and their friends and family members for over twenty-five years. It's painful to struggle with an addiction. It can cause isolation from loved ones, depression and anxiety. You need support to explore your thoughts and feelings in order to make informed decisions. I provide a safe, compassionate, non-judgemental space to help you explore what works best for you. I work interactively and collaboratively, I take into consideration the past as it effects the present. I tailor my work to your needs, together we'll explore your life at your pace. I believe each person has the capacity for growth and healing and I have respect and compassion for all the difficult places we find ourselves in.

When you are carrying a lot from your past, it can feel like you are constantly operating on empty. It impacts how you see yourself, creates friction with the people you love most, and can even leave your body feeling physically exhausted and overwhelmed. If you are looking for a place to simply slow down, catch your breath, and figure things out, I am glad you found your way here. My approach is gentle, warm, and deeply down-to-earth. I believe therapy should feel like a safe, steady conversation where you can talk openly without any judgment or pressure to have it all figured out. Together, we will create a quiet, comfortable space where you and your partner can gently untangle old patterns, talk through hard relationship moments, and help you feel reconnected to who you really are. While our sessions will feel comfortable and human, our work is guided by my 11 years of experience as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Because difficult past experiences and relationship stress often get physically stuck in our bodies and nervous systems, just talking about them isn't always enough to feel better. I specialize in using EMDR and trauma-informed couple's frameworks to help you gently process those old wounds, soothe physical anxiety, and ease the toll that chronic stress takes on your health.

Many people I work with have already spent time trying to understand themselves, yet still feel stuck in patterns that do not seem to shift. This may show up in relationships, work, or within yourself, often leaving you feeling frustrated, misunderstood, or unsure how to move forward. You may have insight into what is happening, but find that understanding alone has not led to meaningful change. My approach is guided by what begins to take shape in the moment rather than a fixed method. I emphasize presence and pacing, creating a space where nothing is forced or rushed. Together, we bring attention to your experience as it happens, including patterns that may be difficult to recognize from the inside. This work tends to resonate with people who have already spent time trying to understand themselves, but are looking for a different kind of experience, not just more insight. Starting therapy can feel uncertain, especially if you have already spent time trying to work through things on your own. If this resonates, you are welcome to reach out.

My goal with all my clients is to help them discover a deeper sense of themselves and build resilience rooted in self-compassion, self-confidence, self-love, and acceptance. Therapy isn’t about fixing what’s broken; it’s about becoming more connected to who you are and what you’ve carried, sometimes consciously, sometimes not. In our work together, we’ll explore how past experiences, relational patterns, and early attachment wounds may still be shaping your present. This includes looking at limiting beliefs and subconscious behaviors that may be quietly running the show. As we bring these patterns into awareness, we can begin to shift the relationship you have with yourself. And because our inner world shapes how we relate to others, this work naturally extends into your partnerships, family dynamics, friendships, and your place in the wider world. I hold space with curiosity, presence, and respect. Whether you're seeking clarity, connection, or simply a place to be with what’s true, I aim to walk with you, not ahead of you, as you deepen into your own healing and growth.

You've probably already done some work on yourself. Maybe years of it. You can see your patterns clearly, you know where they came from, and you can even predict them before they happen. But somehow that hasn't been enough. The old response still shows up anyway. That's usually where people find me. Not at the start of figuring things out, but stuck a little further down the road, frustrated that understanding something hasn't actually changed it. I work with individuals and couples around anxiety, trauma, identity, and the relationship patterns that keep repeating without anyone choosing them. I draw on somatic therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), narrative work, and attachment theory, mostly because I've found that real change usually needs more than talking things through. It needs the body to catch up, and it often means looking honestly at the stories you were handed about who you're supposed to be. None of this requires having the right words ready when you walk in. We'll find them as we go.