Why are you here?

Not existentially why do you exist, but why are you here searching for a therapist? In my experience, you probably fit into one of two groups:

People who have identified their goals for therapy. This group has already done a lot of looking up information and have attempted to resolve issues on their own. And that’s great! There’s a lot of information and self-help advice out there: books, YouTube videos, TED talks, podcasts, TikTok, all forms of social media. Searching for solutions on your own shows initiative, curiosity, courage, and intelligence. Perhaps you’ve done that and even diagnosed yourself with anxiety [“I worry about everything.”] or depression [“I can’t concentrate or motivate myself to get things done.”] or even PTSD [“Ever since _____ I have nightmares, intrusive memories. I can’t think clearly.”] 

People who know something isn’t right, but don’t know what to do about it. If goals are not you, and you have started searching for a therapist because something isn’t right in your life and you don’t know what that is. That’s great too! Searching for a therapist when you don’t know what you don’t know shows awareness, initiative, curiosity, courage, and intelligence too. Even when people think they have identified their roadblocks, something else surfaces in the process. What may feel like rudderless exploration, sometimes leads to the most significant insights.

Either way, let’s talk. Finding a therapist that is a good fit for you is most important.

The difference between normal and needing mental health assistance

We live in a culture of overlapping and very imperfect—sometimes unhealthy—systems that each of us has to adapt to in order to survive. These systems, the environment in which we all live, the relationships we have, work, family, finances, all contribute to our day to day quality of life. Each of us has some level of anxiety and depression, at times. We all have nightmares, intrusive memories, self-doubt and the big one, self-criticism. But, when these feelings, thoughts, and experiences become unmanageable and self-help tools aren’t working, a little professional assistance can help.

My approach to therapy

My approach to therapy begins with what is going on in your life today. 

1. The Present. What is getting in the way of your being your best self and enjoying life? 
2. The Past. Identifying and examining patterns of behavior and beliefs that you learned in the past that are not working for you now. 
3. The Future. Learning to imagine and plan a brighter future for yourself.

My goals are your goals

Therapy with me is:

• Client-centered: by, for, and about you.
• Interactive: a two-way conversation.
• Transparent: ask questions about what we’re doing; disagree with anything I say or do.
• Collaborative: we are a team, we work together…FOR YOU.

What’s good for you

Whether you have specific goals, an underlying feeling that something isn’t right, or a desire for more happiness, doing something about it takes courage. You may not know what you want, but chances are, you know what you don’t want.

ABOUT MY PRACTICE

I see clients one day a week [Tuesdays] in Culver City for in-person sessions. I offer video sessions Wednesdays through Fridays on ZOOM, a secure, private, and HIPAA-compliant platform. I use another service, SimplePractice that has a client portal for appointment reminders, secure messages, sharing documents, and billing information. Simple to use, you don’t even have to set up an account.