Olivia Keiner
I am a compassionate, trauma-informed therapist supporting individuals navigating trauma, crisis, addiction, anxiety, life transitions, and unresolved conflict. I work with first responders, trauma survivors, recently hospitalized, individuals with complex PTSD, postpartum depression, or other acute mental health diagnoses. My approach is whole-person centered, exploring the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of the journey that brought you here. Together, we’ll build resilience, deepen self-awareness, and work toward meaningful, lasting change.
I help you understand how past experiences—especially early relationships—continue to shape your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors today.
First session
In our first session, the goal is to discuss what brings you to therapy, complete a preliminary clinical assessment, and review confidentiality, privacy practices and my practice policies. If you've received therapy before, we explore what was helpful and what might work more effectively. Please ask questions that may come up! Practice Philosophy To support a strong therapeutic foundation, I ask that clients schedule an intake with me only if they are genuinely interested in exploring an ongoing therapeutic relationship together. If you are currently attending multiple intake appointments solely to compare therapists before choosing one, I ask that you wait to schedule until you've narrowed your decision. The first session begins the therapeutic process—not simply an evaluation of the therapist. If, after meeting, either of us determines we're not the right clinical fit, I'm happy to discuss next steps or provide appropriate referrals.
Strengths
Clients often tell me they appreciate my balance of honesty, directness, and compassion. Effective therapy is not always about talking—it requires a willingness to look at yourself honestly, challenge patterns that no longer serve you, learn new skills, and practice them outside of session. Insight without action rarely creates lasting change. One of my strengths is helping people recognize patterns and connections they haven't been able to see on their own. Together, we explore how past experiences and early relationships continue to influence your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships today. As those patterns become clearer, we can begin to change the ones that contribute to anxiety, overwhelm, relationship difficulties, or addictive behaviors. I don't believe in giving advice from a distance or simply nodding along. My role is to ask the questions that matter, offer honest observations, and help you build the awareness and tools needed to create the life you want.
Ideal clients
I support individuals seeking deeper self-understanding, emotional clarity, and meaningful change. Many clients feel stuck in an endless loop, overwhelmed, or disconnected from themselves or their relationships. I help develop goals to reduce anxiety, trauma-responses, enhance and build coping skills and replace negative thoughts with healthier ones. I work best with individual clients who are open to a more direct therapeutic approach, reflection and are curious about their inner world. Together, we’ll build positive ways of coping, relating, and moving forward. It’s understandable that some people hope to feel better after just a session or two, but lasting change often takes a bit more time and consistency. Intentionally practicing the skills and tools learned in therapy—along with completing any between-session homework—is a vital part of growth and progress.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Processing (CPT)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a proven approach for healing from trauma and PTSD. I work with clients to gently explore how difficult experiences have shaped their thoughts and feelings about themselves, others, and the world. We explore negative “stuck points,” and build new ways of thinking, feelings and behaviors with compassion, and confidence. My approach is relatively structured but warm and supportive, helping you move through trauma at a pace that feels safe while making real, lasting progress.
Existential
In Existential therapy, I help explore life’s deeper questions, especially those that come up with grief and loss—identity, meaning, freedom, purpose, connection and mortality. We develop a space to reflect on what it means to live authentically, especially during times of anxiety, loss, transition, or uncertainty. Rather than focusing only on symptom reduction, I support in understanding lived experiences, clarifying values, and making intentional choices that align with a life desired.
Gestalt
In Gestalt therapy, we focus on helping build greater awareness of thoughts, emotions, and experiences in the present moment. We explore what is happening in the “here and now” to better understand patterns, needs, and relational dynamics. We work collaboratively and experientially, supporting in reconnecting, strengthening authenticity, and creating meaningful change.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps heal wounded “inner child” parts of ourselves that carry pain, shame, fear, or trauma from the past. In IFS, these vulnerable parts are called Exiles. My particular approach with IFS is working with stuck, blocked memories of our "inner child" with the use of guided relaxation sessions, where we re-parent, and hear that inner child at particular ages. Inner child work is a clinically grounded therapeutic approach that addresses the emotional needs of the younger developmental parts of the self that formed adaptive responses to inadequate or harmful early caregiving, and it isn’t the pop-psychology version that skeptics rightly question. The clinical version is supported by neurobiological evidence for the persistence of implicit emotional memory, the developmental research on early attachment, and the outcomes literature from schema therapy, Internal Family Systems, and ego-state therapy. It works precisely because those younger parts are not metaphors; they’re encoded in the body’s nervous system as real affective and behavioral patterns.
Psychodynamic
I take a psychodynamic and relational approach to therapy, meaning I pay close attention and sometimes draw attention to the past and present relationships which shape our inner worlds. We explore recurring patterns, emotional struggles, and the deeper needs underneath them. I believe that through a trusting therapeutic relationship, folks gain clarity, work through unresolved pain, and move toward lasting growth and wholeness.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 161304