How I Work
A real conversation, with a plan behind it.
What actually happens in the room, which methods I use, and what I will not promise you. Pasadena and telehealth across California.
Book a free consultIn the Room
Less nodding. More collaboration.
Sessions are warm and fairly direct. I ask questions, I reflect back what I am noticing, and I will occasionally say the slightly awkward thing that everyone in the room is already thinking. There is humor in my sessions, because there is humor in most people's lives, including the hard parts.
We agree on what we are working toward, and we revisit it out loud rather than drifting for a year. If something is not helping, that is information, not failure. We change the approach and keep going.
Modalities
What I Am Trained In
These are threads rather than lanes. Most clients meet several of them over the course of the work, in whatever order the work calls for.
- EMDR
- For memories the body still treats as current events. Structured, and you do not have to narrate the whole thing for it to work.
- Psychodynamic
- Where the pattern started, what it protected you from, and how it keeps arranging your present without asking permission.
- Integrative
- The approach follows the person. I combine methods deliberately rather than running whichever protocol I am most comfortable with.
- Holistic
- The whole person, including body, sleep, culture and circumstance. It is not a euphemism for anything unproven.
More on how these get combined is on Integrative and Holistic Therapy, and the EMDR specifics are on EMDR Therapy.
What I Believe About This Work
The Short Version
- Insight is not the finish line. Plenty of people understand exactly why they do the thing and still do the thing.
- You are not a diagnosis with a person attached. The label is sometimes useful and it is never the point.
- Therapy should be survivable. If a session leaves you unable to function afterward, something in the pacing is wrong.
- I will tell you what I actually think, kindly. You are paying for a clinical opinion, not for agreement.
- If I am not the right therapist for this, I would rather say so early and help you find someone who is.
What I Will Not Say
The honest limits.
I will not promise you an outcome or a number of sessions, because I cannot know either one in advance and anyone who does is guessing. I do not treat severe mental illness or psychotic disorders. I am licensed in California only, which means in person in Pasadena and by secure video anywhere in the state.
I am also not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, call or text 988, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. Practical details, including fees, live on Rates and the FAQ.
Come as you are.
A free, confidential ten-minute call. No paperwork, no pressure, and no obligation to book anything afterwards.