Hi! I am Marissa and I am a compassionate, highly empathic, and dedicated mental health professional from Southern California. I have decades of experience helping individuals, couples, and families improve their relationships and their overall mental and emotional well-being. I have completed extensive training and hold multiple certifications in various therapeutic modalities utilizing both traditional and holistic practices to combat issues such as mood disturbances, nervous system dysregulation, trauma, grief, and addiction. From both my professional and personal experience, I understand the importance and value of integrating mind, body, and spirit into the healing journey. I have had the extreme privilege of witnessing the benefit and the beauty individuals experience when they awaken to a more authentic and meaningful way of existence. The mere possibility of me getting to experience this with you fills me with so much gratitude and joy!
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
My ultimate goal is to help my clients feel seen, heard, and have the freedom to express themselves as their most authentic version- free from judgment. I believe that talk therapy is only a fraction of the healing journey. I will provide you with integrative tools to assist you in working on your healing daily.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My greatest strengths are my intuition and my ability to empathize with my clients. I find great joy in helping individuals feel empowered and find the meaning in circumstances that may have left them feeling broken.
About Marissa Lehto
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Attachment-based
I incorporate attachment-based therapy by exploring how early relational experiences shape my clients' emotional patterns, self-perception, and interpersonal dynamics. By fostering a secure therapeutic relationship, I help clients identify and challenge maladaptive attachment behaviors, develop healthier relational patterns, and build emotional regulation skills that support deeper, more fulfilling connections in their personal lives.
Psychoanalytic
I utilize psychodynamic therapy to help clients explore unconscious patterns, unresolved conflicts, and early life experiences that influence their current emotions and behaviors. Through insight-oriented dialogue and self-reflection, I support clients in uncovering underlying motivations, processing past experiences, and fostering greater self-awareness, leading to meaningful and lasting change in their emotional well-being and relationships.
Grief Therapy
I incorporate grief therapy to provide a compassionate space for clients to process loss, navigate complex emotions, and find meaning in their grieving process. By utilizing a combination of emotional expression, meaning-making, and coping strategies, I help clients move through their grief at their own pace while fostering resilience and a renewed sense of connection to life.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
I use Emotionally Focused Therapy to help clients identify and transform negative emotional patterns that impact their relationships. By fostering a safe and supportive environment, I guide clients in recognizing their attachment needs, deepening emotional connections, and developing healthier ways of expressing vulnerability and seeking support, ultimately strengthening their relational bonds.
Trauma Informed Care
I take a trauma-informed approach by creating a safe, supportive space where clients can process their experiences without fear of judgment or retraumatization. Using Cognitive Processing Therapy, I help clients identify and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to their trauma, fostering new perspectives that promote healing. Additionally, I incorporate Havening techniques to support emotional regulation and reduce distress associated with traumatic memories, helping clients build resilience and regain a sense of empowerment.