Call: (323) 388-5578
Text: (323) 388-5578
Book Consultation
Mental Health Therapy
Supportive and Effective Psychotherapy
Ready To Get Started?
Book Consultation
Call: (323) 388-5578Text: (323) 388-5578

Articles

Image of two individuals with trash bags picking up litter off of the beach. Both are dressed in warm clothing and are wearing gloves.

Is Doing Good Good for You?: The Effects of Philanthropy and Giving on Mental Health

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, depression, depression therapy, family challenges, family dynamics, self-care, , trauma
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr. The end of the year can be a time of stress for many. Spending time with family, while joyful for some, can still carry its own challenges and complications. The holidays can be quite loaded, and planning for the holidays can bring up fears, sadness, and feelings…
Read More
Image of the shape of a person under the covers in bed. Superimposed on this image is a quasi-transparent image of a woman with her head back to depict layers of grief.

How Do I Know if This is Grief?: Understanding and Honoring Grief In All Shapes, Sizes, and Seasons

depression, depression therapy, family challenges, family dynamics, grief counseling, self-care, trauma
Over the past 20 months I have watched more TV and movies than I had in years. They offered me a way to cope, a distraction, and space to process. Unsurprisingly, the common theme in a lot of the shows and films I watched last year was grief. It just couldn’t be escaped. Animated films, TV shows… grief was everywhere. I suspect that’s because we…
Read More
ALT Text HERE

What’s With All the Burnout?: Defining Burnout and What You Need to Recover

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, becoming parents, burnout, depression, depression therapy, family challenges, rest, self-care, work stress
Recently I keep seeing the word “burnout” in the headlines of articles and in stories on the radio. People are talking about work burnout, parenting burnout, even social burnout. It seems that one thing we can all agree on is that as a society, we are burnt out with a capital B.  So what is burnout? Burnout occurs when a person has met their limit,…
Read More

Why Am I So Tired?: A Case for Rest

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, coping patterns, depression, depression therapy, productivity, rest, self-image, trauma therapy, work stress
When I ask the people in my life how they’re feeling, one of the most common responses I receive is, “Tired.” And I can’t tell you how often I will set my sights on having an early night, only to find myself sitting in front of my laptop and television (simultaneously) way past my bedtime.  In our busy and hectic day-to-day lives, it has become…
Read More

What is Toxic Positivity? And How to Respond to Your Feelings Instead

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, coping patterns, depression, depression therapy, trauma, trauma therapy
Even after years of doing this work, I’ve had moments when I am feeling sad or frustrated and I’ll catch myself thinking, “well, things could be worse!” While this seems pretty benign at first glance (or first thought…), I’ve come to understand how this falls under the umbrella of toxic positivity. What is toxic positivity? It’s the tendency to suppress, ignore, or disregard how one…
Read More

How Can I Feel Safe?: Grounding Techniques for Anxiety

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, coping patterns, depression, depression therapy, trauma, trauma therapy
Anxiety can be overwhelming. It can be hard to stay grounded and connect with ourselves when our heads are swimming, our hearts are pounding, and we’re drenched in sweat. In those moments, it can be difficult to soothe ourselves or find any sense of safety. Having a “grounding toolkit,” or strategies we’ve practiced ahead of time when we’re not feeling anxious, can make a huge…
Read More

But What If It All Goes Right?: The Power of Imagination

anxiety counseling, anxiety therapy, coping patterns, depression, depression therapy, gender identity, self-image, sexuality, trauma, trauma therapy
When was the last time you thought about your imagination? If you’re anything like me, it may have been while playing pretend with your kids, or maybe laughing at the wild things they come up with while in imaginative play. The importance of imagination on a child’s development cannot be overemphasized. Children seem to have to play – it’s not a conscious decision they make,…
Read More
Finding Clarity in an Uncertain Time

What Comes Next?: Finding Clarity in an Uncertain Time

I can’t count how many times I’ve read and heard the word “unprecedented” over the past fourteen months. The pandemic disrupted our routines, our jobs, the way we move about in the world, and for some, it may have disrupted our self-identities. Many of us may still be experiencing these disruptions, and feeling their after-effects. As the pandemic recedes, we may be wondering how to…
Read More
Exploring the Power of Self-Reflection

How Can I Make The World A Better Place?: Exploring the Power of Self-Reflection

Growing up, many of us were taught that we can, and should, try to make the world a better place. I remember after-school programs that cheered us on to dream big things and to change the world. I myself became a therapist because I desired to help others; that was how I thought I would change the world. However, while the world is often a…
Read More
Am I Growing or Staying the Same?

Am I Growing or Staying the Same?: Embracing the Incremental Nature of Change

Unlike other cities, in Los Angeles, the transition between winter and spring is not drastic. All the seasons seem to stop and start a few times. Right now, we’ve had a few days of rain, followed by weeks of full sun, then back again, at seemingly random intervals. And while the tree in my yard has new leaves that are starting to sprout, there are…
Read More