Faryal Popal
Hi, I’m a trauma-informed mental health therapist working with adolescents and adults. I specialize in supporting people through suicidal thoughts, trauma, anxiety, and intense emotions, using evidence-based approaches like CBT for Suicide Prevention, Narrative Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. I know that day-to-day stress, along with challenges related to culture, immigration, motherhood, work, or the environment, can take a real toll on your life and ability to function. My focus is on creating a safe, compassionate space where you feel heard, understood, and empowered to make changes that matter to you. Who I Work With I support adolescents and adults navigating life’s challenges, including trauma, anxiety, intense emotions, relationship difficulties, and major life transitions. I also help clients manage stress from cultural pressures, immigration experiences, parenting responsibilities, work, and environmental factors that affect daily life. What Therapy Can Do Together, we’ll explore your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and develop practical tools to manage distress and feel more in control. Many clients find that therapy helps them reconnect with their strengths, build resilience, and find hope and stability in everyday life. My goal is to support you in creating meaningful changes that bring a greater sense of safety, confidence, and well-being.
First session
In our first session, we’ll focus on getting to know you and your goals for therapy. I’ll ask about your experiences, challenges, and what brought you here, and together we’ll begin exploring your thoughts, feelings, and patterns in a safe, nonjudgmental space. We’ll also talk about how we’ll work together, what approaches and strategies I use, and start identifying the areas where you want support and change. This is your journey and your road to healing, and I am here to walk alongside you, supporting, encouraging, and empowering you every step of the way. By the end of our time together, we’ll have a clearer understanding of your priorities, and you’ll leave with your first steps toward coping, safety, and progress. My goal is to make this session supportive, collaborative, and empowering, so you feel heard, understood, and ready to take the next steps in your healing journey.
Strengths
What stands out about my therapeutic approach is the combination of compassion, collaboration, and trauma-informed care. I create a safe and supportive space where clients feel heard, understood, and empowered to explore their thoughts, emotions, and life experiences without judgment. I take the perspective that therapy is your journey—you set the goals, and I walk alongside you, providing guidance, encouragement, and practical strategies. My methods are evidence-based and individualized, drawing from CBT for Suicide Prevention, Narrative Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, while also being culturally sensitive. I focus not only on managing intense emotions, trauma responses, and suicidal thoughts, but also on helping clients navigate day-to-day stressors, including challenges related to culture, immigration, motherhood, work, or environmental factors. The results I often see are meaningful and lasting: clients report feeling more resilient, empowered, and in control of their lives. They gain practical skills to manage distress, navigate crises, and cope with everyday challenges. Many clients leave therapy with a stronger sense of safety, renewed hope, and a clearer connection to their strengths and values, allowing them to make changes that truly matter to them.
Ideal clients
I work with adolescents and adults who are facing depression, anxiety, trauma, or intense emotions, as well as those navigating life transitions or relationship challenges. My clients often come to therapy feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or uncertain, and I provide a safe, nonjudgmental space where they can feel truly heard and understood. Together, we explore your experiences, identify your strengths, and develop practical strategies to manage distress, increase resilience, and create meaningful change. I take a collaborative, culturally sensitive approach, helping you reconnect with what matters most and build a life that feels safer, more hopeful, and aligned with your values. My goal is to walk alongside you as you gain clarity, confidence, and a stronger sense of control over your life
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP)
In my practice, I use CBT-SP by collaboratively reviewing a client’s most recent suicidal crisis to identify triggers, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and then translating that information into an individualized safety and coping plan. With adolescents and adults, I regularly practice in-session skills (distress tolerance, problem-solving, and cognitive restructuring) and assign brief between-session exercises to strengthen coping during high-risk moments. Given my trauma-informed and EMDR-trained background, I also integrate attention to trauma and somatic responses so clients can recognize early body-based warning signs and intervene before a crisis escalates.
Culturally Sensitive Therapy
In my practice, I apply culturally responsive and trauma-informed care by exploring each client’s cultural identity, family values, spiritual beliefs, and community context as central parts of their suicide risk and recovery process. With adolescents and adults, I collaboratively adapt safety planning, coping strategies, and communication styles to align with the client’s cultural norms, language preferences, and views of mental health and help-seeking. I also remain attentive to the impact of systemic stressors (e.g., racism, immigration experiences, intergenerational trauma, and community violence) and integrate these realities into treatment planning, so interventions feel respectful, relevant, and empowering rather than prescriptive.
Narrative
In my work with adolescents and adults, I integrate Narrative Therapy, developed by Michael White and David Epston, to help clients separate themselves from the problems that have come to define their lives. I support clients in externalizing suicidal thoughts, trauma responses, and self-critical beliefs so these experiences are viewed as challenges they are facing, not who they are. Through collaborative storytelling and identifying unique outcomes, I help clients reconnect with strengths, values, and past moments of resilience, allowing them to rebuild a preferred identity that supports hope, safety, and a stronger sense of agency.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
When working with adolescents and adults, I use Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) to help clients identify strengths, existing resources, and moments when their difficulties feel more manageable. I collaborate with clients to define clear, meaningful goals and use scaling and future-focused questions to highlight progress and increase hope. This approach supports clients in building on what is already working, strengthening coping strategies, and creating small, realistic changes that promote safety, resilience, and a greater sense of control in their lives.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Licensed in
- CaliforniaLicense 85231