Trauma informed, Attachment based couples counseling and sex therapy in Pasadena, using a combination of Gottman and EFT interventions. I have specialized in helping couples since 2007, I am experienced and efficient, but also compassionate and sensitive. Relationship problems are a very personal topic, especially if there has been betrayal or hurtful fights. I can help you heal the damage that has happened, I can help you rebuild trust and intimacy. I am direct and practical. The way I do couples therapy is 1). identify the real source of the problem, 2). come up with practical action items that address the problem, each of you are responsible to do your part, and 3). come back and see if it was successful. If the interventions were not working, I will come up with a new plan. In the first session, we dive right in--I will ask both of you to describe the relationship problem(s), I want to fully understand each of your feelings and perspectives. Like doctors looking at symptoms, I will be diagnosing the relationship based on what I hear and observe. I will explain what I think has gone wrong and I will propose the solution. Then we will talk about the practical actions each of you can take to combat the problem. By the end of the first appointment, we should have a treatment plan with clear steps. Couples therapy sessions will not be gripe sessions where you rehash the same arguments in front of me. Each session will be used wisely and be solutions focused. Each of you will be recognized and appreciated for what you did right, and each of you will be held accountable if you fall short. This ensures we are getting progress.

I am interested in what is happening beneath the surface, but I am just as interested in what is happening between us in the room. Therapy with me is relational, engaged, and deeply attentive. I notice the places where you become quieter, move away from yourself, brace, minimize, change the subject, or suddenly come alive. I am listening to what you say, but also to what may be harder to say. I do not approach therapy as a formula or assume that one explanation accounts for everything you are experiencing. Your history matters. Your relationships matter. Your body matters. The larger systems and environments you have lived within matter. I want to understand how all of these pieces fit together in the context of your particular life. I am also not a therapist who sits silently while you do all of the work alone. I will be present with you, ask questions, offer observations, slow us down when something important is happening, and help us stay curious about what emerges. At times that means making connections to the past. At other times it means noticing what is happening in the therapy space with your emotions, sensations, and thoughts. Therapy is a relationship in which there is enough safety, honesty, and room to encounter yourself differently. Change can happen not only through what we understand together, but through what you are able to experience differently while another person is genuinely there with you.

Many of my clients are executives, physicians, attorneys, entrepreneurs, military members, veterans, first responders, and other driven professionals who appear successful outwardly but feel overwhelmed, burned out, anxious, or “off.” As a board-certified clinical psychologist, I provide focused, evidence-based therapy tailored to high achievers. Together we clarify what’s driving stress, build practical tools for resilience and emotional regulation, and create measurable progress toward your goals. I also provide comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessment, including ADHD and cognitive evaluations, leadership and executive assessment, psychovocational evaluation, and FAA aeromedical (Tier 2) evaluations. The goal is not to dull your edge — it’s to sharpen it sustainably. If you’re ready for structured, high-level psychological care designed for people who operate under pressure, reach out to schedule a consultation.

I offer clients a safe, non-judgmental and interactive space to work through personal issues, problems and dilemmas of life. I believe that at times, we need to look outside our usual supports to find a consistent and supportive place to find balance in our lives. Therapy is an opportunity for growth; to feel less stuck and less overwhelmed. I will collaborate with you to identify obtainable goals and explore the barriers and challenges to feeling relief and contentment both within yourself and in your relationships with others. Together, we will recognize your strengths, discover your resilience, and develop your authentic self. As a licensed therapist with over 10 years of clinical experience, my skills and training include the ability to help with problems of anxiety and stress, depression, relationship problems, work concerns, parenting issues and life transitions, among other troubles. I work with individuals, couples and families to help them discover the deeper roots of the issue so they can begin to find resolutions, expand awareness, communicate more effectively with those around them, and understand links between the roots of their issues and their daily lives. I look forward to your call. We will discuss together the best way to begin.

Relationships can be so hard, especially with the stress life throws at us. I help parents, children, and couples connect in healthier, calmer ways. Whether your child just won’t listen, you are parenting a neurodivergent child, you are a single or adoptive parent, you are co-parenting through divorce, you and your partner are repeating the same fights or trying to heal from an affair, or you are just feeling overwhelmed by conflicting generic advice, I’m here to help. Together, we will find and use your family’s unique strengths to untangle your particular challenges. Come home to a calm, safe place where everyone feels loved. I use emotionally focused therapy (EFT) to renew and refresh bonds. I have an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens: we often have conflicting needs and desires. I use eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) to process trauma and tools from Gottman, DIR Floortime, Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and play therapy to help families thrive. Whether you’re facing constant battles, neurodivergence, adoption, parenting as a single person, divorce, or the aftermath of an affair, you don’t have to do it alone. Once you have solidified a strong, secure bond with those closest to you, life gets easier. You deserve the deep sense of security that comes from fulfilling family relationships.

I love helping people overcome obstacles in their lives and learn to THRIVE. I have a strong passion for encouraging the strengths within each individual. Since no two people are exactly alike, I modify my approach and style to address your specific struggles and to meet your individual needs. Seeking therapy can be a very scary endeavor, especially if you were raised with any negative stigmas around mental health issues. I will work hard at helping you feel safe in the process of finding the right therapist and removing negative assumptions and concerns. Please feel free to ask questions and gather the information you need to find the right fit for you! Let me help you live life to the fullest and fulfill your dreams! Please contact me if you think I would be a good fit for your needs. Best, Dr. Debra

Many of the problems that bring people to therapy are the result of using defense mechanisms to avoid facing uncomfortable emotions and conflicts. I help patients identify the defense mechanisms that they are using and overcome them so that they can lead better lives. This process is known as intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP), and there is a strong body of research to support its efficacy. I also use standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy, and common sense to help my clients solve their problems and improve their lives. If you're interested in a different way of looking at or approaching your problems....Call me! :-) To learn more about my approach to therapy, please visit my website (link under my pic) or call me :-)

I work from a compassionate, non-judgemental, client-centered perspective. I believe that the unique rapport that develops between client and therapist is one of the major components of emotional and psychological healing. Creating a therapeutic environment in which you--the client--can feel safe and explore your feelings is my primary objective.

I use a relational and eclectic approach to therapy. My style is engaging and collaborative so that you feel fully supported in your process. I will provide insights and interpretations to best assist you in growing and moving forward. I want all may clients to feel that they have real takeaways from our sessions. I work with clients trying to better understand themselves, patterns, and relationships. I specialize in supporting those struggling with: anxiety, depression, substance use and drinking, family, trauma, relational challenges, relationship issues, stages of life and uncertainty with the future, while giving direct feedback and encouragement. Relationally, I help individuals and couples build emotional resiliency and better awareness into their thoughts and feelings. I also help clients set healthy boundaries, advocate for their own needs, and learn effective communication skills. Common themes I see in my client work is a struggle with self-judgment, self-criticism, self-worth, self-compassion, fear and shame. I work with clients to create more awareness around their internal processes and shift perspective & their narrative so they begin to see themselves, others, and the world differently. This process lends to growth, healing and change.

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.