Education:
MA Clinical Psychology, Phillips Graduate Institute, 2013; Certificate Program in Postmodern Therapies
MA Urban Planning, UCLA, Concentration: Community Economic Development, 2009
BA Urban Studies and Planning, Cal State University, Northridge, 2005
Welcome!
My name is Deb and I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I am currently licensed in California and Iowa. I work with individuals, couples, children, and facilitate groups. I have worked with clients from wide-ranging backgrounds, addressing a variety of clinical issues including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, recovery from trauma, relationship conflicts, career transitions and family therapy. I welcome clients from all backgrounds and stages of life. I particularly enjoy working with social change-makers such as artists, community organizers, writers, teachers and government employees..
In addition to my Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology, I completed a year-long certificate program in Postmodern Therapies at Phillips Graduate Institute and three years of training in Relational and Community Gestalt Therapies at the Relational Center. I also attended related workshops at the Esalen Institute. As an intern, I provided therapy in English and Spanish for children and families on Medi-cal at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, served clients at the David H. Fox Counseling Center in Chatsworth, Ca and at two local private practices. I am a professional member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).
My work as a therapist is partly informed by my past career as an urban planner and non-profit director where I ran programs that promoted expanded opportunities for entrepreneurs and job seekers looking for avenues into new career sectors. I also completed urban planning related internships in El Salvador and China which further solidified my interest in examining the ways that political, cultural and economic forces can impact our wellness and degree of connectedness with others.
I believe that some of the distress that we experience cannot be separated from the political, cultural and economic environment in which we live. I am interested in finding ways to connect the emotional healing and improved self-care associated with therapy to broader social movements working to promote a fairer, more resilient, more sustainable world. I’m also interested in neuroscience, mindfulness and am well versed in recent scientific research about the impacts of social isolation on physical and mental health outcomes. While I am a traditionally trained therapist, these influences frequently appear in my work.