Individual Therapy in California
Online sessions across California and in person in the Century City area and El Segundo
Individual therapy is about helping you with your specific needs at this specific time in your life. It's not about diagnosing you or offering you a boilerplate set of exercises and questions that you could easily just google. Individual therapy can be very short term, or it can be a therapeutic relationship that lasts years.
That's the point: it's tailored to the specific fears and anxieties you may be facing, or the specific decisions you may need to make, or the specific things you'd like to talk about that you cannot talk about anywhere else. It's just us, either in my Century City area offices or online from anywhere in California.
Sometimes Problems Can Seem Overwhelming
Set a date for online individual counseling in California and in-person in the Century City area.
In individual counseling, we take a critical look at the problems that cause stress and anxiety. Traditional psychotherapy assumes that people themselves are problematic and that therapy helps “correct” their thinking. That is not the way I work.
My work begins at a point where we assume you are acting rationally and in what you see as your best interest. My job is to help you figure out what isn’t working, and then help you to decide what to do about it based on your own values. I am not here to preach or shame.
People consult with me for help when feeling overwhelmed, when facing a big decision, when having problems in their relationships, and when they want to steer their life in a different direction.
I help people to face stressors that come from problems and dilemmas at home, at work, in relationships, or cultural forces that demand we either behave in certain ways or suffer dire consequences. Once we face these stressors together, people often feel more in control of the direction of their lives, and as a result they feel significantly better.
Schedule an individual counseling session today!
Individual Therapy in California for the Challenges That Matter Most
People come to individual therapy for all kinds of reasons. Some are going through something specific. Others just know something is not right but cannot quite name it yet. Whatever brings you here, below are some of the most common things I help people work through.
Stress and Burnout:
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a rough patch and the realization that you want a completely different path for your life. Therapy will help you determine if it’s worth it to just vent and then keep going, or if bigger and more fundamental changes are the better path.
Anxiety:
When worry never lets up, it’s exhausting. It robs us of time, of creativity, of a sense of agency in our own lives. The worst is when you can’t quite put your finger on the source of what’s gnawing at you. Therapy will help you gain clarity about the sources of stress and how you can address them.
Something feels off:
Everything looks fine on paper. Good enough job, good enough relationships, good enough health. But something’s not quite right. You feel like you should be happier. You might think it was a midlife crisis, but you’re not suddenly struck with an urge to buy a boat. Therapy gives you a place to press on that feeling a little and to explore what might be lurking beneath a life that looks fine from the outside.
Relationship Issues:
Every single one of us could do better in our relationships. Being imperfect is human, not shameful. Therapy will help you (and your partner, if you come together) figure out ways to address your problems and stressors without straying from your values.
Life Transitions:
Life changes throw our routines and our relationships off balance. Losing a loved one, or a relationship, or the life we had expected to live can be as isolating as it is devastating. Becoming a parent can throw relationships into turmoil. When the way we used to do things is no longer possible, I will help you figure out how to move forward in a new reality.
How do I know if individual therapy is right for me?
You are expected to be the one with the answers. The buck stops with you. People come to you when they need something done properly. Everyone thinks you’re the one who always has your act together. So where do you go when you could use a little help? Who is there when you want to talk over a major decision, or life is feeling impossibly difficult.
Individual therapy is a time to focus on your needs. It’s not selfish to make time to address and think about what’s going on in your own life, any more than it is selfish for an elite athlete to get a massage after a game, or a pop star to rest her vocal chords between concerts. It’s part of the job, and necessary to continue to perform at a high level.
Every single one of us could use some help sometimes.
How Individual Therapy Works
In individual therapy we do 50 minute structured conversations where we address the problems and dilemmas you are facing.
Life is hard enough. There’s no room for blame or shame in the therapy room. Instead, we look at how things might have gotten to be where they are, and what options are available moving forward. We do this either through online sessions from anywhere in California, or face to face in my offices either in the Century City area or El Segundo.
Weekly meetings tend to be the best pace to allow for both reflection and continuity. By law, our conversations are completely confidential, with a few minor exceptions.
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My approach is not about sunshine and rainbows and positivity and gratitude and helping people find strategies to “get with the program.” Instead, I’m here to support you in living the life you want to live, in part by identifying the ways that forces and people push us to be a certain type of person or live a certain way. I’m here to help you plant a flag and do it your way, and be crystal clear about the pros and the cons of those decisions.
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It depends entirely on what you are hoping to achieve with therapy; we will have this discussion either in our opening consultation or our first session. Some people come to therapy one time and get what they need; others find value in coming every week no matter what is going on in their lives.
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Yes! If you are located in California, we can do individual therapy by phone or by video. Many clients in the Century City area and El Segundo choose online sessions even though in-person is available, simply because it fits their schedule better. Online and in-person work equally well; it comes down to your preference.
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Sometimes it just depends on scheduling or traffic. In-person sessions offer a chance to meet together in a dedicated space for conversation and reflection, and offer a clear boundary between your session and the rest of your day.
Online works well if your schedule is unpredictable or you'd rather skip the stress of a commute. Some people alternate between the two depending on the week.
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You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from individual therapy. It does not have to be painful or tearful. Many people come to therapy to work out difficult dilemmas they are facing, or for extra support during a time of transition in their life.
The best way to know if individual therapy is right for you is to speak with a therapist about the kind of work that you can do together; if it sounds helpful, give it a try. You should feel clearer about who you are and what you care about, and this knowledge should bring some comfort. You should begin to see some of the changes you have been hoping for.
Some Questions You Might Have About Individual Therapy
Get Started with Individual Therapy in Los Angeles or Online Across California
Individual therapy is available online to clients anywhere in California and in person in El Segundo and Century City, Los Angeles.
Text me, call me, email me or just sign up for a consultation and I'll call you at the time you choose. We'll set a time, and then meet and jump right in.