Alexa Gutierrez, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California & Oregon

My clinical approach is multi-disciplinary and rooted in psychodynamic theory, attachment theory, and humanistic psychology. I also have a background and training in integrative health and wellness, which can contribute to a more in-depth perspective on treatment. My style is genuine, collaborative, interpersonal, direct, and non-judgemental, and I encourage clients to be true to themselves and transparent. Although treatment is based on an individual's needs and goals, primary objectives in treatment are to help clients (re)connect to their confidence and curiosity and to reinforce their capacity and resiliency. Couples therapy can be some of the hardest yet most profound work ones does. I understand and revere the gravity, complexity, and reward of the process. Often, the primary focus of couples therapy is on “fixing the problem,” and when the underlying causes are not addressed, couples can become entrenched in the same cycle, the same pattern indefinitely. The more one understands a partner’s triggers and the history behind them, the more opportunity there is for vulnerability and empathy, followed by deeper connection.