Licensed to practice in California and accepts 7 insurances. Specializes in Addiction, Anxiety, Couples Counseling and 3 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
I graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Psychology, and from Loyola Marymount University with a M.A. in Counseling Psychology. Subsequently, I received my Marriage Family Therapist license in 1982. In addition to offering psychotherapy to recovering addicts and alcoholics in private practice in Los Angeles, California, I specializes in treating emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety and I have been facilitating ongoing recovery groups in various chemical dependency treatment centers. Having spent many years in the field of addiction and recovery, on both a professional and personal level, I know what it takes to leave behind destructive behavior patterns in favor of actions that promote prosperity and success, and I have dedicated my life to using my extensive experience to benefit others. In my work I utilize the “alchemy” of turning weakness into strength, passing on resources and tools for recovery from emotional pain, depression, anxiety, and addiction – for building a good life.
In our first session, we'll spend time getting to know each other and discussing what brings you to therapy. I'll ask questions about your current concerns, personal history, and what you'd like to gain from our work together. You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions, and together we'll begin creating a plan that feels supportive and aligned with your goals.
What distinguishes my approach is the balance between genuine therapeutic connection and effective, evidence-based treatment. I believe meaningful change happens when clients feel seen, heard, understood, and gradually empowered to utilize their existing strengths. Therapy is tailored to each person, integrating insight, emotional processing, and practical strategies that can be applied in everyday life.
I specialize in working with artists and other self-employed people who struggle with alcoholism and addiction, intimacy and attachment issues. My patients sek help with stress, fluctuating moods and emotions, substance use, and difficult relationships. Therapy goals include mental-emotional balance and better impulse control along with more functional behavior patterns and less self-sabotage; successful therapy also includes improved confidence. Often, present-day struggles are connected to earlier experiences. Unprocessed trauma can show up as conflict, distress, or self-sabotage. My work includesI financial issues, employment and investment, which are often associated to trauma. The work is about uncovering and letting go of difficult experiences so they no longer control the mind.
Other specialties
I identify as
Attachment-based
As a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), I utilize attachment-based therapy to help individuals, couples, and families understand how early attachment experiences influence current relationships, emotional functioning, and behavioral patterns. This treatment approach recognizes that the bonds formed with caregivers can have a lasting impact on a person's ability to trust, communicate, regulate emotions, and maintain healthy relationships. I use attachment-based therapy to assist clients in identifying attachment styles and understanding how these patterns may contribute to challenges in their personal and family relationships. My experience with this approach has demonstrated its effectiveness in helping clients gain insight into their relational dynamics, heal from past emotional wounds, and develop more secure and healthy connections. By creating a safe, supportive, and therapeutic environment, I help clients explore their experiences, strengthen emotional awareness, and build skills that promote lasting growth and improved relationship satisfaction; my work supports meaningful change at both the individual and relational levels.
Trauma Informed Care
I use attachment-based therapy as framework in therapy because it helps explain how early relationship experiences shape emotional regulation, expectations of others, conflict patterns, and intimacy in current relationships, i.e. Establish a providing a consistent and emotionally safe relationship; explore clients' relationship histories and current relational dynamics; identify and process situations that activate attachment fears; facilitate Corrective Emotional Experiences; process intergenerational relationship patterns; trauma and loss; also, family emotional rules, as well as models of intimacy and conflict.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Wworking with clients who have substance use disorders in an outpatient setting, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be a highly effective approach because it targets the relationship between thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and substance use. As an MFT, I integrate systemic and relational perspectives that are often central to recovery. I utilize a CBT framework for addiction with focus on, identifying triggers, i.e. External triggers (people, places, situations) and internal triggers (thoughts, emotions, physical sensations); recognizing automatic thoughts, e.g. "I can't handle this stress without drinking." challenging cognitive distortions, e.g. All-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing, overgeneralization; developing coping skills, especially, as well as assertiveness, communication skills, and problem-solving. Relapse prevention is a big part, incl identifying high-risk situations, creating coping plans, and learning from lapses rather than viewing them as failures.