Diahann Klein
I believe therapy should be a place where you feel genuinely safe, seen, understood, and supported while also being challenged to grow. My approach is warm, collaborative, and down-to-earth. I work with adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, substance use, life transitions, and relationship challenges. I draw from evidence-based approaches while tailoring therapy to the individual, because no two people, experiences, or paths toward healing are the same. I encourage clients to use what is helpful and leave the rest. It has been my honor to serve as a past-President of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP), Los Angeles Chapter, for two terms and Education Chair for the Women's Association of Addiction Treatment (WAAT). I am grateful to have witnessed profound healing as both the Clinical Director and CEO of prominent eating disorder, substance use disorders, and mental health programs over the past 20 years.
First session
My first priority is getting to know you - not just what brings you to therapy, but who you are and what matters to you. We'll talk about what you're experiencing, what you hope will be different, and what has or hasn't helped in the past. I want you to leave your first session feeling safe, heard, understood, hopeful, and with a sense that we have a path forward together. With individuals, we'll focus on your unique experiences, patterns, strengths, and goals. With families, I broaden the lens to understand each person's perspective, the relationships and patterns within the family, and how we can create healthier communication and connection. In either setting, my approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to the people in the room.
Strengths
I bring warmth, authenticity, curiosity, humor, and many years of experience to my sessions. I listen deeply and without judgment, but I also believe therapy is more than simply holding space. When helpful, I will gently challenge you, help you recognize your patterns, and offer new perspectives. I believe people already possess tremendous strengths and wisdom and my role is to help you reconnect with those parts of yourself while developing insight and tools to create meaningful change.
Ideal clients
My ideal client may be feeling overwhelmed, anxious, stuck, or simply tired of living in patterns that no longer serve them. They may be navigating trauma, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions, or struggles with food, body image, or substances. They don't need to have everything figured out - or even know exactly what they want from therapy. Curiosity and a willingness to begin are enough. I especially enjoy working with people who want to better understand themselves, make sense of how past experiences may be affecting their present, and develop healthier ways of coping and connecting. Together, we'll build on your strengths, explore what's getting in the way, and work toward a life that feels more authentic, connected, peaceful, and fulfilling.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I will give you powerful skills and activities to help you question and reframe your thoughts, conquer negative thinking and anxiety, manage your moods and boost your self-esteem. CBT can be extremely effective in improving many areas of your life. It helps reduce and even eliminate shyness, social anxiety, anxiety and stress. We explore fixed mindsets vs growth mindsets, perfectionism, the need for approval, and help you face your fears so you can develop a mindset that will move you toward your goals. We identify your values and explore why they are important and how they guide us. We explore moral dilemmas and understand how our values influence our choices and behaviors.
Attachment-based
I use attachment theory as a case-conceptualization framework and then integrate attachment-focused interventions with modalities such as IFS, psychodynamic therapy, somatic work, or trauma-informed CBT. We may use this to understand questions like: What happens when you feel someone pulling away? What do you do when you need reassurance? What happens when closeness feels dangerous? How did your early relationships shape what you expect from people now.
Narrative
The central idea around Narrative therapy is that the person is not the problem; the problem is the problem. I often utilize narrative therapy in my practice, especially with clients dealing with trauma, shame, identity, eating disorders, anxiety/depression, or major life transitions. People develop stories about themselves from experiences, relationships, family systems, culture, and trauma - "I'm defective," "I'm too much," "I always fail," "I have to be perfect," "I can't trust myself." We get to examine these stories instead of automatically treating them as facts.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT is a structured, comprehensive treatment therapeutic model. I use DBT-informed therapy, incorporating DBT skills and principles - mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness - into our individual sessions. I might use DBT with someone struggling with intense emotions, impulsivity, self-harm urges, relationship conflict, eating disorder behaviors, substance use, or difficulty tolerating stress.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
My IFS work fits very naturally into individual sessions, particularly when we are treating trauma, anxiety/depression, eating disorders, perfectionism, shame, and relationship difficulties. The basic premise of IFS is that rather than being one psychologically uniform self, we all have different "parts" that developed for understandable reasons. The goal isn't to eliminate those parts, but rather to understand them, reduce their extreme roles, and help access what IFS calls Self - the calm, curious, compassionate, grounded center of the person.
Location
Virtual sessions