Therapy Approaches in Pasadena, CA | ERP, Brainspotting & Gottman
Evidence-based, body-aware therapy for OCD, anxiety, trauma, and relationships — private pay, in-person in Pasadena and online throughout California.
I help self-aware, high-achieving teens and adults who feel trapped by their anxiety, OCD, and trauma move through what's keeping them stuck — not just manage around it.
My approach centers on building a strong therapeutic relationship, staying present in the moment, and creating a space where you can be honest about what you're experiencing. In our first sessions together, we'll identify what's bringing you to therapy and build a plan around your specific goals — drawing on the most targeted, effective approaches available for what you're working through.
Core Approaches
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD
ERP is the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. We work together to gradually face the thoughts, situations, and sensations that trigger anxiety — without performing the compulsions or rituals that follow. Over time, this breaks the cycle that keeps OCD in control, building real tolerance for uncertainty rather than temporary relief.
Brainspotting
Brainspotting is a focused, body-based approach that uses eye position to access and process where the brain holds onto emotional pain, trauma, or stuck patterns — reaching experiences stored outside conscious awareness that talk therapy alone often can't fully resolve. Particularly effective for trauma, complex PTSD, anxiety, and performance or creative blocks.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Built on decades of research into what actually makes relationships work, the Gottman Method gives couples concrete, evidence-based tools to improve communication, manage conflict constructively, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional and physical connection.
Supporting Approaches
Depending on your goals and what you're working through, I also draw on:
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
A parts-based approach that helps you understand and work with the different "parts" of yourself — including the protective parts that drive anxiety, perfectionism, and self-criticism — to build greater self-compassion and internal harmony.
Somatic Therapy
Body-based approaches that recognize trauma, anxiety, and emotional pain are held not just in the mind but in the nervous system and body. Somatic work helps regulate the physiological responses that keep you stuck in fight, flight, or freeze — often used alongside Brainspotting.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
A structured, evidence-based approach that helps identify and shift unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors. Particularly useful for anxiety, depression, and building practical coping skills.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Explores how past experiences, relationships, and unconscious patterns shape present-day struggles — useful for clients who want deeper insight into why they keep repeating the same cycles.