ABOUT ME This is not your average therapy and I'm not your average psychologist. I'm not someone who just listens, nods her head and agrees with whatever you say. I will challenge you, encourage you to dig deeply and offer insights and feedback that can help you change your life for the better. I focus on helping people succeed and reach their true potential. MY APPROACH My approach to coaching is rather eclectic. Because each client is different, with different needs and goals, my approach must also be different. I believe we all have the power and strength within us to be successful but we need the determination, motivation, support, and encouragement to make it happen. I use traditional psychotherapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing) mixed with Life Coaching, Spirituality, Animals, and Nature, which are all highly effective in promoting personal empowerment, strength, self-esteem, growth, healing, and success. SERVICES Our vision is to work with the WHOLE person- mentally, emotionally, spiritually & physically. One person cannot do this all, which is why Free Spirit teamed up with other practitioners who specialize in these specific areas of healing. Each of our practitioners brings something special to the team: Children, Teens & Adults Individual, Couples & Family Therapy Equine-Assisted Coaching Spiritual Coaching Therapeutic Yoga Sound Healing Crystal Reiki Healing Workshops & Retreats and more...

Hi, I'm Dr. Vince. I’m a licensed psychologist based in Pasadena, CA. I work with individuals and couples who are ready to stop just getting through it and start living with intention. My approach weaves together neuroscience, attachment theory, and values-based therapy to help you heal at both an emotional and nervous system level. I’m warm, direct, and I’ve been told I make the process feel a little less heavy. I offer individual therapy, couples and relationship counseling, and a couples intensive program designed to help couples dig deep and make immediate changes to their relationship. I take a collaborative, goal-oriented approach that’s built around you: your story, your strengths, your nervous system. We’ll work together to understand what’s going on beneath the surface, build tools that actually stick, and help you move through life with more clarity and confidence. I look forward to meeting you and helping you on your healing journey.

Authenticity, curiosity, awareness, playfulness, humor, and responsiveness are the characteristics that guide my practice. During each session I will create space for us to discuss how our communication is going and invite you to share any concerns or awarenesses you have about our interactions. Mostly, you can expect that I will want to get to know you. I'm a licensed therapist with master's degrees in both social work and early adolescent educations. Since 2002 I've been honored to help teens and adults who struggle with trauma, conflict, loss, grief, family and relationship conflicts, mood difficulties, anxiety, and various other challenges. My years of Zen meditation have helped me cultivate a judgment-free and compassionate interest in my clients and their experiences. Focusing on our here-and-now relationship can help us discover belief patterns, perceptions, and thoughts that impede your personal growth. I'll help you explore your physical, spiritual, and emotional experience to help you boost clarity while creating coping skills that will work for you. I rely on mindfulness to expand your capacity for growth. Whether short or long term, therapy can shed light on long hidden relational patterns and questions. Most importantly, the therapeutic process can provide you with varied solutions, real change, and insight for the future. Please call me for a phone consultation so that we can discuss your specific needs.

You may be here because something in your life no longer makes sense the way it used to. Maybe a relationship has been shaken by betrayal or conflict. Maybe you feel stuck, disconnected, anxious, or unsure of who you are or what comes next. Or maybe you know something needs to change, but you haven't been able to change it on your own. I can help you slow things down, understand what's happening beneath the surface, and figure out what to do with it. My style is active, warm, and direct. I won't just sit back and nod while you do all the work. I'll ask questions, help you notice patterns, and sometimes challenge you when I think there's something important you might not be seeing. At the same time, therapy isn't about me telling you how to live your life. My job is to help you understand yourself more clearly so you can make choices that actually fit the person you want to be. We'll pay attention not only to what's happening now, but also to the experiences, relationships, and beliefs that may have shaped how you got here. That can mean exploring old wounds and attachment patterns, and it also means looking closely at what happens in your life today: how you respond when you feel hurt, what you do when conflict gets uncomfortable, what you avoid, and what keeps repeating even when you want something different. There's room in my office for emotion, humor, frustration, uncertainty, and uncomfortable conversations. You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what's wrong or what you want from therapy. We can figure that out together. What matters is that you're willing to be curious about yourself and open to doing something different.

My expertise is in the struggles of both couples (ENM ally) and individuals, particularly actors and other creatives, facing relationship difficulties, depression, self-doubt, anxiety, trauma, and loneliness. I bring warmth, acceptance, and empathy into my work. I believe that in our early life or in times of great difficulty or trauma, we do what is necessary to survive, and while these tactics were once essential for us to cope, they can come to no longer serve us. I help clients uncover how these tactics they once needed to employ may now be blocking their full aliveness, connection to others, and themselves. I support clients in processing emotions they may never have previously felt safe enough to explore, which allows for the discovery of more nourishing ways of relating to themselves and others. I have extensive training in Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), emotionally focused therapy (EFT). eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Gestalt, and modern analytic group therapy. I work from a lens of acknowledging and exploring the impact of systemic oppression, racism, and trans and homophobia on the mental health of marginalized folks, particularly POC and queer communities. Finding the right therapist is all about finding the right fit. Contact me today, and we can discover if we are a match so we can get you help today.

People who have worked with me say, "You're called a shrink, but our work together makes me feel expanded, clearer and empowered. I am now able to think differently about myself, my life and my relationships and, as a result, I can see my part in what's happened in my past and I have the chance to transform how I act and live in the future." I've been so excited and so gratified over my 25 years of practice to see how many people I've been able to help profoundly. People who work with me say they feel heard and understood, often for the first time. Even more importantly, our work together allows you to have access to your own wisdom - the source of real answers - and then to act in accordance with your authentic values. As a result, you can not only find usable solutions to long-standing problems, but also experience greater self-confidence (where you used to experience frequent self-doubt). I see each of us humans as whole and complete but many who enter my office for the first time are feeling very different from that. I hold on to that point of view as I help you to see "behind your back," where useful clues exist, and to show you how the meaning you are attributing to events impacts your experience of living. By expanding the ways you think, you can worry less and become more effective at dissolving your unwanted beliefs (or mis-beliefs), your undesirable habits and your pattern of getting upset repeatedly over the same things. I aim to get you to think and then feel and act unstuck from what you've created. The bottom line: you will function better and feel more productive and happier. This approach will allow you to reclaim elements of your health, vitality and even your youthfulness. Significantly, I've seen these shifts become permanent, time and again, as individuals, couples and families discover they are capable of transforming relationships and long-standing destructive patterns. The latest research validates that this type of therapy results not only in feeling better and functioning better, but in literal changes to the brain. Your life can actually become easier, making decisions can become less burdensome and yes, even your dreams can turn into probabilities.

No matter what you’ve been through, no matter what you currently face, there is hope. I know what it’s like to feel stuck. I know how it feels to be overwhelmed with fear, anger, anxiety and sadness. I know the burden of carrying pain and grief from the past. I know, because I’ve been there, too. And I know what it’s like to overcome, heal, and rise up. You deserve a life worth living, full of joy and free from distress. You deserve a space to become your best self. And I want to help you get there. In my practice I will help you identify the limiting beliefs and traumas that keep you from the fulfillment and freedom you could be experiencing. I take a Psychodynamic approach to help you assess and shift your core beliefs and overall perception of self. I also utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, Narrative Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. Investing in therapy, on its deepest level, is an investment in yourself. I hope to support you in your journey by identifying your strengths and resources so you can live a life far beyond the quality you've expected. The fit between you and your therapist is everything. If you are interested in meeting me and starting your therapy journey, contact me today. I look forward to meeting you.

Hi, I’m Ashley Holmes, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and founder of Hope for Growth Therapy. I believe therapy should be a place where you feel safe, understood, and supported, while also being challenged to create meaningful change. My approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to your unique goals. Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, life transitions, attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), depression, or stress, we’ll work together to understand what’s keeping you stuck and develop practical tools to help you move forward. My goal is to help you build confidence, strengthen relationships, and create lasting growth, not just symptom relief.

Being alive is a constant process of evolution and transformation, sometimes seemingly without our input. At times, the ever-evolving quality of life can feel exciting and expansive, and at others, it can feel overwhelming and chaotic. Psychotherapy provides a unique opportunity for the client and therapist to curiously engage with, untangle, and understand life’s processes, beginning to understand the inner world and its effect on the external. In doing so, a softening of rigid defenses and old patterns begins, inviting symbols, feelings, memories, thoughts, and desires to emerge in service to a fuller expression of the self. It is a process where creative impulses are given the freedom to evolve from the unknown. The ultimate goal is to cultivate a sense of self that feels embodied, integrated, and more deeply connected to both personal truth and relational others. My personal style as a clinician is humorous, warm, honest, and empathetic. I’m a Licensed Marriage and (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)) in California. I practice from a psychodynamic perspective, grounded in analytic and psychoanalytic theory. In practice, I am compassionate and collaborative, balancing supportive and expressive techniques as needed to help people recognize patterns of relating, explore their emotional depths, and uncover meaning in their experiences. Every person is unique, and the therapeutic encounter is a deeply connected experience. As a result, psychotherapy is highly individualized to each client. While honoring each person’s individuality, I also recognize that, as human beings, we are not so different from one another, and many of our struggles run in similar veins. I work well with people who are navigating their identity and how it can be expressed in the world, processing early childhood wounds, struggling with religious trauma, understanding neurodivergence, and working through grief and loss. As a former designer, I have a unique insight into the creative experience, which allows me to offer empathy and understanding to creatives who are struggling to express themselves fully. Mostly, I enjoy sitting with people who are curious and want to better understand themselves and others.

I believe that healing happens through genuine, meaningful relationships and lasting change comes when you feel safe to express yourself openly. In therapy, I create a space where you can freely share your thoughts and feelings, without judgment. This relational approach is designed to help you connect with your true self, build confidence, and create lasting change by fostering a deeper understanding of yourself and your experiences. I specialize in working with anxiety, depression, life transitions, loss, grief, self-esteem struggles, trauma, addiction, and relationship challenges. I work with adults, couples, families, children, and adolescents. As a lifelong tennis player and coach, I also have a special interest in helping athletes improve their mental and emotional well-being. If any of this resonates with you, I invite you to reach out for a free consultation.