Find a Therapist in Playa Del Rey, CA

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with a doctoral degree in counseling psychology. I have been licensed for twenty-three years. My theoretical orientation is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); however, I also draw on solution-focused and humanistic theories, as well as psychodynamic and holistic approaches in therapy. I work primarily with depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), and trauma.

The decision to begin therapy is often difficult, but it can be the first step to living a happier, more fulfilling, and authentic life. I am a therapist whose personal style is warm and interactive. I utilize humor and directives in our sessions and believe that the key factor to change and progress starts with connection. Does your current therapist understand you? Do you feel comfortable and supported in sessions, and trust that he or she can help you navigate through difficult times? Once connection is established, you will be able to freely express yourself and we can work together on resolving the issues affecting your life and relationships.

Ultimately, I’m passionate about supporting you. You choose what intrinsic and extrinsic life experiences you'd prefer to have. Tell me what's not working in your life, what emotions you wish to no longer feel, and what behaviors you'd like to no longer repeat. We'll target, identify & dismantle the cycles that create and maintain those unwanted patterns. We'll create the direction, motivation and progress that allows you to build the external outcomes you'd like to reach, as well as the emotions you want to consistently feel. I'm very assertive in my therapeutic process. I hold my clients accountable and point out patterns that create and maintain unwanted habits, thoughts, emotions, behaviors or outcomes. I have a very goal oriented approach to therapy, I place a higher value on creating measurable progress as opposed to spending extended time deeply developing insight around the past.

I invite you to say what you would never say in ordinary conversation. People I work with often focus on difficult to describe dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, workcareer difficulties, low self-esteem, sexual problems, imposter syndrome, mens issues, creative blocks, sexual abuse, and relationship issues. For adults, I offer psychotherapy, lacanian psychoanalysis, and relationship couples therapy. In psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, we will look closely at areas of anxiety and difficulty. In relationship therapy, we will get to the heart of your relational issues which are most likely not what you think they are. I will help you with the challenging work of growing to respect yourself in your relationship while staying connected to your partner. I work with people who are completely new to therapy, those who have tried other approaches and are looking for something more, and those who want to transform through the adventure of a personal psychoanalysis. Contact me for a free consultation.

Pronouns: she they It's time to finally find a therapist who understands the depth of your queer experience. Maybe you: + Are looking for support in exploring your queer identity + Need support figuring out how to come out to your loved ones or community + Want to process your trauma related to your queer experience, such as trauma from bullying, rejection or estrangement + Have been out for a while and are comfortable in your identity, but just don't want to have to explain the whole queer thing to a therapist while exploring other topics in therapy All of this and more is welcome here. I'm Angela, a queer identified trauma therapist who specializes in supporting highly sensitive and empathic members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Wherever you are in your queer journey, I'm here to help you to better understand your past, and help you release the weight of your trauma and life's challenges so you can move forward. To help you reach your therapy goals, I combine Compassionate Inquiry (a somatic therapy approach), IFS (parts work), and an intersectional social justice lens. Some days you may be interested in doing more of a deep dive, and other days you may just need a space to process out loud. I'm here with you at your desired pace each time we meet! I take a relational approach in working with my clients, meaning I bring my own humanity into the room in order to connect with you on a human to human level. I'm walking this path of trauma healing as a queer person in this queerphobic society with you- you are not alone in this. Together we can help you to deepen your self awareness and bring more self-compassion to your experience. If you are on the fence, feel free to check out my website gnecenter.com and my instagram @healwithgoodnature to learn more about my work. I offer free phone consultations to help us determine if we'd be a good therapeutic match. Reach out through this profile or my website if you'd like to learn more about working together! I am looking forward to connecting with you.

I’m Kirstin Carl, LMFT, an Encino therapist with nearly 20 years of experience working with adults and couples around trauma, attachment, dating and relationship patterns, and parenting. Many of the people I work with have spent years trying to understand why certain patterns keep repeating. You may find yourself overthinking relationships, struggling to trust your own perceptions, becoming overwhelmed by conflict or distance, or taking responsibility for other people’s feelings. Earlier relationships and experiences can shape how we respond to closeness, uncertainty, rejection, and vulnerability long after we begin understanding those patterns intellectually. My approach is attachment-based, relational, and trauma-informed, with attention to how emotions and experiences show up in the body. Together, we pay attention not only to what happened in the past, but to what is happening in the present: your emotions, body responses, relationship patterns, and the ways you respond when you feel hurt, confused, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Therapy with me is collaborative, warm, and direct. I want you to feel genuinely seen and understood, while also having room to look closely at patterns that may no longer be working for you. My goal is to help you trust what you feel and need, respond differently when old patterns get activated, and build relationships where you can be close to others without losing sight of yourself. I offer in-person therapy in Encino and online therapy throughout California.

When it comes to accomplishing your goals in therapy, it starts with making sure we are a good fit, and that we can create and maintain a genuine relationship. While I have resources and specialized training, I can only give you my best guess. I value you as the expert in your own life; I consider myself as a fellow-journeyer on the path. If we agree that we can work together, I will initially focus on fostering safety in our sessions. Safety is important, more importantly, though, my focus will be on helping you build resiliency and effectiveness. I will be honest with you, I will hold you accountable, and I will be empathetic. Creating a life with meaning takes work. You got to do the reps, and I am here to spot you. I work for you.

Do you find that worries about the past or the future are taking you away from living your life? Emotional pain and negative thoughts take over and become overwhelming? Are your relationships unsatisfying? Do you often worry most about pleasing others? I truly believe that within every individual is the potential to live a happy, full life and be present in each moment. Every person can move through obstacles to make meaningful changes. But moving through can be a difficult and uncomfortable process. Psychotherapy is a tool that can help along your journey. My therapeutic approach with adults is unique to each individual. My role is to help redirect your energy toward managing the things you can control. I emphasize developing an ability to be present "in the moment." I utilize both Western and Eastern philosophies, interweaving mindfulness and meditation techniques with somatic, psychodynamic and relational modalities. I hope to cultivate a warm, honest and authentic relationship with all my valued clients. I truly believe in the dignity of every human being, and I am humbled that through this work I may be of service.

You may look like you are functioning well on the outside - successful, creative, accomplished - yet inside you feel tense, blocked, emotionally exhausted, or disconnected from yourself and others. Many of the people I work with are artists, performers, writers, entrepreneurs, and professionals who have learned to push through pain, self-doubt, and relational wounds without fully resolving them. At a certain point, pushing through is no longer enough - you want to feel like yourself again.

As an author, public speaker, spiritual scholar, and Licensed Clinical Psychologist, my goal is to create a welcoming space to explore the deeper realities of life. My expertise lies within combining psychological with spiritual world views, as a more cohesive path to healing. I aim to help patients heal mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. I had the privilege to be under the wing of mentorship of Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller, the renowned Gnostic-Jungian scholar. With this background, I have created my own method of therapy over the last 18 years; I call it “Gnostic Pneumatherapy”. Having crafted this particular method myself, I am thus able to implement various treatment styles with patients, including talk therapy, couple’s therapy, humor, rituals, intuition, and whatever is suitable for that particular person. I also specialize in dream interpretation. Being able to help individuals identify a lack of direction in life enables them to address issues of depression, anxiety, grief, and suffering. Many people feel lost and in need of guidance; my goal is to help them discover what a successful path looks like for them. If you’re searching for a spiritual and clinical approach to healing, contact me to get started on your journey to wholeness!

Are you feeling emotionally stuck? Are your existing coping skills not feeling effective enough? Do you feel overwhelmed often? You might be thriving in some aspects of your life, but feeling unhappy or unfulfilled in other areas. Well, you're not alone. We all struggle with some level of anxiety, stress, burnout, and other difficult feeling states. It's part of being human in this very complex and demanding culture that we live in today. With so many things "to-do," goals to accomplish, and people to please, it's easy to feel disconnected from what truly matters and brings meaning to life. Living on what feels like a daily autopilot loop. Can you relate?

Hi and wow! It takes courage to look for and reach for support. See if any of these apply to you- You feel like you're circling the same toilet bowl of situations, relationships, feelings. You want relief from the stress, anxiety, depression and pain you feel too much and too often. You are willing (with a little healthy fear) to invest your energy in making yourself and your relationships better (your definition of better goes here). If any of that pings inside you, it’s likely I can help. Like in a deep, lasting way kind of help. Using connection, compassion, humor and the deep work of super cool therapy, we'll laugh, cry, curse, feel deeply & empower you to be in your life and relationships in a fuller, yummier way. We'll build your abilities to move, groove & feel when the ick part of life happens with courage, clarity, creativity, empathy, and other qualities you want. I am a very, very human therapist specializing in relationships- the one you have with yourself and with others. For Personal and Couples therapy, I use Internal Family Systems (IFS), Intimacy from the Inside out (IFIO), and Relational Gestalt as my go to tools. Please reach out- I’m excited to answer your questions and see if we could be a good fit!