2 therapists in California accepting Aetna - Medicare

I am a client-centered professional with 15 years of experience providing broad mental health services to diverse populations of children, adolescents, adults, and families. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified art therapist with specialization in utilizing multiple evidence-based modalities to address substance abuse, dual diagnoses, depression, anxiety, trauma, and domestic violence.

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” – Buddha My name is Heidi Dryer and I obtained my license as a Marriage and Family Therapist in 2015 but I have been practicing since 2012. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. I have extensive experience working with individuals from all walks of life. The most important aspect of therapy is the therapeutic relationship. I understand the importance of having an empathic ear, especially now that we find ourselves with the illusion of being “connected” with one another only to feel more disconnected than ever. We are not born good listeners. Listening is an acquired skill. It is difficult to find someone, even in the professional world of therapy, who really listens and genuinely tries to understand the other person’s world. That is why I try my best to be present with every single person that I meet in the therapy room. I believe in holistically providing treatment so I work under the premise that all individuals have the innate ability to solve their problems although sometimes a guiding hand is necessary to lead one in the right path to have a healthy and happy life. At some point in my life, I worked as Flight Attendant so I often use the metaphor to describe my philosophy that all human beings are travelers in this journey called life. I believe that sometimes, as travelers, we often either don’t pack enough or carry too much luggage. Symbolically, this luggage has been accumulating little by little throughout our lives from the moment we are born. We carry good things in our luggage. But, sometimes, there are too many unnecessary things that are just weighing us down. If we don’t make an effort to make a thorough inventory of all those items our journey will be unpleasant. We know this is happening when we feel stuck in life. We feel unhappy, anxious depressed, hopeless and helpless. Sometimes it's difficult to get out of that loop so this is when therapy can be very helpful.