Being a therapist in Los Angeles means working in a landscape that is as multifaceted as the people who live here—sun-soaked and fast-paced, wellness-oriented yet often...
Understanding Sliding Scale in Therapy: What It Is, Who It’s For, and Why Standard Rates Matter
If you’re considering starting therapy and wondering about the cost, you may have come across the term sliding scale. As a therapist in private practice, I want to...
When the Smoke Clears: Reflections and Resources for Healing After the Fires
Wildfires swept through parts of Los Angeles recently—this time touching Pacific Palisades and Altadena, sending smoke and panic across the basin. As someone whose...
Are You Dating an Avoidantly Attached Partner?
10 Subtle Signs After 6 Months Together Written from the heart of a therapist's chair After about six months into a relationship, patterns start to solidify. The...
Letting Go of the “Shoulds”: Reimagining Sexual Intimacy
If there’s one theme I see over and over in the couples I work with, it’s this: We are haunted by what we think sex “should” be. In Come Together, Dr. Emily Nagoski...
Navigating Our Bodies: A Guide For Couples
I sometimes help clients navigate the tender, raw places where intimacy meets resistance. Where the messiness of being human confronts the myth of how things “should”...
Confidence, Joy, and Trust: The Foundation of Sex-Positive Intimacy in Long-Term Relationships
At times, I sit with couples who are quietly carrying a deep and painful question: "Are we okay?" Specifically, they’re wondering about their sexual connection. And...
Emotional Floorplans for Sexual Connection
I often see partners who long for more closeness and connection in their sex life in my work as a couple therapist. Couples struggle to get there because they don’t...
Understanding Desire, Pleasure, and Connection for Sexual Well-Being
As a couple therapist, I’ve had the privilege of working with many individuals and couples navigating the complexities of their intimate lives. One of the most common...
How to Choose your Therapist
I understand that choosing the right therapist is a crucial decision, one that can profoundly impact your healing journey. Here are some important factors to consider...
Private Pay or Insurance for Therapy?
As a therapist, my primary goal is to provide you with the best possible care. I have chosen not to work directly with insurance companies for several important...
Breaking the Cycle: Understanding the Infinity Loop in Couple Therapy
I've encountered countless couples struggling with communication breakdowns, recurring conflicts, and a sense of being trapped in negative patterns. In navigating these...
My Healing Journey & Why I Became a Therapist
This photo was taken when I was 13, a few weeks before my life changed forever. I grew up in Santa Monica, California. My mom provided a secure and safe...
Why Starting Therapy is Empowering
I want to emphasize that seeking therapy does not mean you are weak. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Recognizing the need for support and taking proactive steps to...
Embracing Change: A Guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT, developed by Steven C. Hayes and his colleagues, is a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy that emphasizes acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings while...
Humanistic Therapy for Traumatic Grief
Humanistic traditions (H-T) "naturally lend themselves to meaning-making interventions" (Piazza-Bonin et al., 2016b). The alliance is considered foundational to H-T as...
Treating Traumatic Grief with MBCT
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a Mindfulness and Acceptance third-wave behavioral tradition that recognizes thoughts, feelings, and somatic experiences...
Are you in Suspended Traumatic Grief?
Are you in Suspended Traumatic Grief? A few years ago, new buzzwords became prominent including: pandemic, quarantine, face masks, isolation, social distancing,...
Structured Premarital Therapy
Sometimes people assume couple therapy is predominately for married couples or couples in crisis, however, couples also commonly come to therapy when they are...
Solving Relationship Issues
One key to resolving relationship issues is accepting innate personality differences between partners. No two people are exactly alike, and differences in personality,...
Causes of Relationship Issues
Frequently clients come in for a common relationship issue and then find that there are deeper relationship issues beneath the disagreements are finances and intimacy....
Common Relationship Issues
I often hear from clients about the common issues they face in their relationships. These issues can range from minor irritations to significant problems threatening...
Which Type of Marriage Therapy is Best?
Are you ready to take the brave step to start couple therapy? Maybe you began researching marriage counseling, and you found that there are multiple approaches to...
Can Marriage Counseling Save Your Marriage?
“Do you have your hearing aids in?” - Miranda “Yeah, one of them.” - Steve “Well, can you get the other? I want to talk to you about something?” - Miranda “Just talk...
Benefits of Online Therapy
Perhaps you have thought about starting online therapy but have been unsure if it will be as effective as in-person sessions. Research actually indicates that...
The Best Gift for Valentine’s Day
Hear, Help, and Hug Your PartnerHas your relationship felt icy or tense recently? Are you dreading Valentine's Day this year? Are you considering a big surprise for...
How to Achieve your New Year’s Goals
S.M.A.R.T goals are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Have you made lofty goals for the new year and are disappointed that...
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
What is Mindfulness? Feel the ground underneath your feet and the seat beneath you. Notice the placement of your hands, lengthen your spine, tuck your...
5 Ways to Emotionally Prepare for the Holidays
My professor made a poignant remark during the days leading up to the fall and winter holidays that had the entire class laughing at the accuracy and...
Am I too much?
I confess that one of my pastimes is watching The Bachelorette. If you watched this season, you might have noticed many conversations about the contestants’...
My Five Favorite Self-Care Practices
Throughout my adult life, I have continually sought to connect with my intuitive nature and cultivate grounding and mental clarity. These 5 practices have...
Coping with Covid, flus, and colds
Flakey pie crust bakes in the oven and the aroma of cheese and tarragon wafts around me as I sit in my kitchen nook at sunset. Since childhood, the veggie pot...
Languishing & Post-Covid Stress Disorder
Languishing & Post-Covid Stress Disorder I miss how I experienced my life Before The Pandemic or “BTP”. These days, my concept of time sometimes revolves around BTP...
Is this my Intuition?
When it comes to taking steps on your life path, you often hear people urging you to “follow your gut.” But what exactly does that mean? And if you aren’t...
Finding your Preferred Individual Therapy Style
If you have started researching therapists, you likely noticed the different therapy styles mentioned. The therapy style can be a valuable component in finding...