Diane Prosser
Many people come to therapy struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, painful relationships or difficult life transitions. You may feel overwhelmed and exhausted from trying to hold everything together, or frustrated that despite your best efforts, the same feelings or patterns keep returning. You may find yourself searching for answers and wondering, “Why do I feel this way? Why does this still hurt so much?” The symptoms that bring you to therapy matter, and finding relief is important. But they can also be the beginning of a deeper understanding. Together, we'll look beneath what is happening now to understand the experiences, patterns, and ways of coping that may have developed for good reasons but are no longer serving you as well as they once did.
Together, we’ll explore what’s keeping you stuck, build on what’s working, and let go of what no longer serves you. Through genuine acceptance and thoughtful challenge, I’ll help you discover greater clarity, emotional freedom, and new possibilities for meaningful change.
I believe healing begins with understanding, deepens through awareness, and becomes more lasting when both the mind and body are invited into the process. After more than 30 years as a therapist, one truth has become increasingly clear to me: meaningful change rarely comes from simply telling ourselves to think differently or try harder. It grows from understanding how our experiences have shaped the way we think, feel, relate, and respond. With greater understanding comes greater choice: the ability to respond differently to yourself, to others, and to life's challenges. Whether you're seeking relief from what hurts right now, looking for answers, or trying to find a way forward when life has become painful or overwhelming, therapy can offer a place of solace, understanding, and hope. Together, we can work toward easing what is causing you pain while helping you feel more grounded, more connected to yourself, and more fully alive, with greater clarity and confidence about how you want to move forward.
First session
Our first session is a chance for us to get to know one another and for me to begin understanding what has been happening in your life and what you hope will be different. I’ll ask about what brings you to therapy, your current concerns, and relevant parts of your history, relationships, strengths, and patterns. There are certain questions I need to cover as part of an initial assessment, but I’ll approach them conversationally and with care. You won’t need to tell your whole story at once; we can continue developing the larger picture over time. If you are feeling nervous beforehand, you do not need to prepare anything perfectly. It can simply help to think about what has been weighing on you most lately, what you would like help with, and any questions you may want to ask. Together, we’ll create an initial plan of care and identify at least one goal that feels meaningful to you—something you would like therapy to help you change, understand, or move toward. We’ll also consider whether my experience and approach feel like a good fit for what you need. You’ll have every opportunity to ask questions, voice any concerns, and let me know what does or doesn’t feel right or helpful to you. My hope is that even in our first meeting, you’ll begin to feel understood and a little less alone, and may leave with greater clarity, a new way of looking at something, or a practical tool you can begin using right away.
Strengths
One of my greatest strengths as a therapist is creating a space where you can feel safe, understood, and comfortable enough to explore the more vulnerable parts of yourself. I work alongside you with curiosity and compassion, helping you understand where you may feel stuck, recognize patterns that no longer serve you, and build upon the strengths you already possess. I believe meaningful change begins with deeper self-understanding and developing a more compassionate, supportive relationship with yourself. Together, we explore not only the challenges you face, but also the underlying emotions, beliefs, and patterns that may be keeping you in familiar struggles. My approach combines genuine acceptance with thoughtful challenge, helping you gain greater clarity, experience more emotional freedom, and discover new ways of relating to yourself and your life. I also believe that insight becomes especially valuable when it translates into meaningful change. Together, we can turn new understandings into practical, attainable steps that support lasting growth and a greater sense of well-being. My hope is that you leave our sessions feeling a little lighter, more connected to yourself, and increasingly confident in your ability to create a life that feels authentic, fulfilling, and genuinely your own.
Ideal clients
I work especially well with adults who find themselves overthinking, being hard on themselves, feeling emotionally overwhelmed, or repeating patterns in relationships that they understand intellectually but still struggle to change. In our sessions, I will help you to learn how to slow down, understand yourself more deeply, trust your own feelings and decisions, and become more intentional in how you care for yourself and connect with the people who matter to you. You may come to therapy because of anxiety, trauma, depression, grief, relationship difficulties, or a major life transition. Or you may simply sense that old ways of coping or relating are no longer working for you. Wherever you are starting, our work can include practical help for what is happening now while also making room to understand the deeper patterns beneath it, so that change grows from greater clarity, self-trust, and choice.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I often incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) because I value the connection between our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. As these parts of us become clearer, we often discover we have more choices than we first realized, leading to greater emotional balance, confidence, and resilience. Rather than simply focusing on symptom reduction, I help clients take the next steps and build insight, self-compassion, and practical skills that support change. Every person is different, so CBT is best integrated with other evidence-based and experiential approaches to create treatment that is both personalized and meaningful.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Real change often begins with awareness. Rather than trying to eliminate difficult thoughts or emotions, mindfulness helps clients notice their internal experiences with greater curiosity and compassion. As this awareness grows, clients often feel less overwhelmed, more grounded, and better able to respond intentionally rather than react automatically. I use mindfulness to help clients slow the busy thinking mind, become more present in their bodies, and reconnect with the deeper parts of themselves that can become harder to access during stress, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm. This can create more space for clarity, self-trust, and a greater sense of inner steadiness, allowing clients to move through life with more intention and connection to what matters most to them.
EMDR
Some experiences continue to affect us long after the events themselves have passed. Rather than simply talking about painful memories, EMDR allows the brain and body to work together in a way that often leads to new insights, reduced emotional distress, and a greater sense of peace. EMDR can sometimes help clients process experiences in ways that feel different from traditional talk therapy, depending on the severity and complexity involved. Results and processing are unique to each individual. Clients may find that experiences which once felt overwhelming begin to lose their emotional intensity, making room for healing and a renewed sense of possibility.
Somatic
I believe the body often reveals what the mind is still learning to understand. When experiences feel too painful, overwhelming, or difficult to put into words, the body may express distress, emotion, or needs that are not yet easy to understand consciously. Sometimes the body knows before the mind is ready. By bringing gentle awareness to these signals with curiosity and compassion, clients often gain deeper insight, experience emotional release, and develop a greater sense of safety, self-understanding, and connection. I integrate somatic approaches thoughtfully to support healing that involves both the mind and the body.
Integrative
I don't believe one approach fits every person. “I draw from evidence-based therapies along with mind-body and experiential approaches, choosing what best fits each client's needs, personality, and goals.” This may include DBT skills, mindfulness, transpersonal approaches, somatic approaches and polyvagal-informed practices, guided imagery, visualization, and other approaches that help create change not only through insight, but through experience. An important part of this work is learning that acceptance and change are not opposites. We can develop greater compassion and acceptance for what is happening now while also creating meaningful movement toward what you want for yourself. For clients who are interested, our work can also include spirituality, intuition, and practices that support a deeper connection with yourself and your own inner wisdom.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
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Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 21767