Find a Therapist in Bell Gardens, CA

I take an integrative approach to therapy with an emphasis on a client-centered approach to build rapport and meet the needs of my clients. I specialize in working with trauma survivors, anxiety disorders, and relationship-based issues.

Therapy helps you become your best self. The person you want to be. If you are weighed down with uncertainty, ambivalence, depression, anxiety or fear there is a way through and we will find it together. In a safe, caring, compassionate space you can be seen and heard, understood and known, perhaps for the first time in your life. No matter how dire things may seem right now, there is a way forward. Yes, it can be difficult and painful. This way forward can also be exciting, inspiring and life-changing. Effective Couples Therapy. Whether you'd like your relationship to be even better than it is, or if your intimate relationship is a quagmire of uncertainty, conflict and fear, I can help. You will learn to use powerful communication methods to promote genuine mutual understanding with your mate, and develop the caring, compassionate, loving, growing relationship you yearn for. I have worked in Addiction Recovery for some time now. Whether you're still making a commitment to stop using, or you've made your commitment, I can help and support you without judgement through whatever program is working for you; I specialize in mindfulness relapse-prevention skills and cognitive skills from SMART Recovery.

The decision to begin therapy is often difficult, but it can be the first step to living a happier, more fulfilling, and authentic life. I am a therapist whose personal style is warm and interactive. I utilize humor and directives in our sessions and believe that the key factor to change and progress starts with connection. Does your current therapist understand you? Do you feel comfortable and supported in sessions, and trust that he or she can help you navigate through difficult times? Once connection is established, you will be able to freely express yourself and we can work together on resolving the issues affecting your life and relationships.

Are you feeling stuck in your relationships, struggling with communication, or facing life challenges that seem overwhelming? As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I provide a supportive, non-judgmental space where you can explore your emotions, strengthen connections, and create positive change. With 15 years of experience, I specialize in helping individuals navigate conflict, individuals work through anxiety and life transitions, and families build healthier dynamics. My approach is compassionate, evidence-based, and tailored to your unique needs.

Relationship problems? There is still hope! When your relationship isn't going well it can impact your whole life! Are you arguing a lot? Not feeling like your partner understands you? Couples therapy can really help! More harmony and tranquility could be yours! Let's find better ways to relate to each other. Let me help you find your way back to that loving place again... I am conveniently located in Center Stone Plaza at the corner of Barranca Parkway and Culver Drive in Irvine. I also offer telehealth for clients who prefer that. Call me today at (562) 477-2530 for a complimentary confidential phone consultation and let's get started.

I work with individuals or couples who feel lost, stuck, anxious, or just in emotional turmoil. The issues my clients are facing show up as affairs, career confusion, patterns of bad relationships, loss of emotional connection with their partner, substance abuse, or loss of passion or engagement. I also support people through life transitions that are positive but challenging, like adjusting to college, a new marriage, a new baby, or launching those grown babies. Along with joy and pride, people may feel anxiety, uncertainty, and loss of their former identity. I provide support and guidance to couples in all stages of their relationships as well as individual adults in all life phases, from young adulthood through the senior years. I facilitate their unique process of self-exploration as they work to achieve their goals and dreams for themselves and their relationships. Through developing self-understanding, effective coping skills, and fulfilling relationships, those goals and dreams can become reality. I work from a place of empathy, connection, and understanding. Together, we find the threads of connection and meaning in the stories and feelings they share, helping them to create the life and relationships they want. To create this change, we talk about their concerns, feelings, needs, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

Practical, non-judgemental, with a goal of moving forward. Are you a struggling couple or individual, feeling stuck and emotionally tired? Are you a couple or individual ready for the next step in your relationship or in life!? I bring a variety of skills and compassion and experience to the room. I aim to help you feel stronger, calmer, and regain a sense of hope for your future, for your relationship, for happiness. I have two main areas of focus: Relationship skills and emotion regulation. For couples, I have been certified in the couples program Mastering The Mysteries of Love. For individuals and their families I have been intensively trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, helpful for those struggling with emotional regulation, relationship, and impulse control problems. I work from a goal oriented approach, looking at short term and long term goals, and keeping the focus on solvable issues, or assisting in finding acceptance. I worked in a psychiatric setting for 15 years, and managed the clinical team for 8. I have had a private practice since 2004. I have worked in a corporate setting as a quality coach and management trainer helping businesses and school organizations change for the better.

I believe that therapy helps people heal from present and past wounds, empowering them for struggles to come. My mission as a therapist is to help clients to identify those negative influences and help them make positive changes so they discover who they are, bring in purpose and fulfillment, with the overall goal to live their best life yet. Every person has the ability to positively change, and I will collaboratively work with each client to help them do that. I am trained in and use EMDR to treat and relieve PTSD, acute stress, and anxiety symptoms resulting from traumatic and other life experiences. EMDR therapy can produce elevated emotional and somatic reactions during and after treatment. A typical client experiences a 60-90% reduction in stress as a result of completed treatment. I also have advanced training in R-TEPG-TEP (Recent Traumatic Event Protocol and Group Traumatic Event Protocol). I use a conversational and collaborative approach. These are your sessions and you know yourself best, we can talk about and work on anything you want to work on. I always send emails within 24 hours of getting a referral. Please remember to check your junkspam folders if you have not received anything.

Hi, my name is Allison. I've been a therapist for thirty years, working with individuals and teens who have experienced trauma. I specialize in attachment, complex developmental trauma, and relationship challenges. I work with individuals who have been exposed to early or chronic trauma, violence, neglect, abandonment, and attachment disruptions. These experiences can create challenging or disabling behavioral patterns affecting the body, heart, and mind. Complex trauma related to grief, loss, neglect, abuse, and abandonment can make individuals or parents feel overwhelmed, easily triggered, and chronically anxious or depressed. Learning effective strategies to create a healing path for your life and journey is always possible. We cannot shame ourselves into change! Seeking help is one of the bravest things we can do for ourselves. Breaking the pattern of intergenerational trauma allows us to become who we were truly meant to be ... our most authentic self.

Life is full of messy tensions. People who are supposed to be the safest let us down. The things we know are good for us can be the most difficult to follow through. At one moment, we feel paralyzed by inaction, and in the next, we can be flooded by thoughts. Sorting through these tensions alone can be scary, frustrating, and exhausting. Whether you are suffering from chronic emotional pain or looking for ways to increase your ability to thrive, I commend you for taking the first steps towards therapy. At its best, therapy can be a warm place to affirm and own your strengths, while also being a safe place to confront and change the unhealthy patterns we all develop. In my approach to therapy, I believe that symptom reduction is a necessary part of the process but understanding the root of our struggles is essential to lifelong change. Therapy can offer the opportunity do cultivate a deep sense of self-understanding, help us confront our normal human limitations, and be the catalyst for living into the lives we want to lead. My therapeutic approach has been shaped by serving diverse populations across multiple settings ranging from downtown urban centers, immigrant communities, and suburban healthcare clinics. From my time working in primary care medical settings, I embrace the notion that living a full and flourishing life not only means healing from past wounds but also taking preventative measures to build resilience and develop healthy rhythms of living. Reaching out to a therapist is daunting and demands a high degree of vulnerability to entrust your story to a new person. If you are looking for a collaborative process and someone to stick with you through the hard and long journey of self-discovery, I invite you schedule a free consultation to see if we may be a good fit.

My goal is a provide a compassionate space for clients the better understand themselves, gain clarity, and develop skills for growth. For over 15 years, I have provided individual, family, and couples counseling to clients across the lifespan. I use an integrative approach with an emphasis on multicultural theories to create a collaborative process where clients can explore solutions in a supportive environment. “There are many ways to get to nine.” While the desired outcome of therapy can be universal, the path taken to get there will be uniquely yours. I use a diverse set of evidence-based practices to help us find the right path for you.

It is difficult to be in pain emotionally dealing with sadness, anxiety, irritability, worthlessness, loneliness and hopelessness. IT is difficult to be experiencing theses out of control and big emotions all while feeling alone or like what you are going through is not real or worst stupid. But you are not alone, what your are feeling and going through is real and not stupid. There is help and there is hope. When I consider why I choose therapy as profession it is that I love working with people, being apart of there journeys to wellness and healing and reminding them that there is hope. My practice provides therapy to people who have been struggling with depression, anxiety, self-worth, boundaries, grief and loss. These issues are so treatable and yet they create so must havoc and hopelessness. Please contact us today if you are looking to take back you life and move into wellness.