Individual Therapy for LGBTQIA+ Folks and Complex Trauma in California
What brings people to individual therapy?
You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy. Sometimes, it’s the realization that the ways you’ve learned to cope aren’t working for you anymore.
You might be looking for support if you:
Grew up in an emotionally unpredictable, critical, or invalidating household and are still navigating its impact.
Struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionism, boundaries, shame, or feeling responsible for other people’s emotions.
Understand your patterns intellectually but find yourself repeating them anyway.
Feel disconnected from yourself, uncertain of your identity, or caught between your own values and family or cultural expectations.
Are processing complex trauma or painful experiences that continue to affect your relationships, sense of safety, or self-worth.
Are navigating coming out, gender or sexual identity, or what it means to live more authentically.
Feel burnt out from constantly adapting to or masking in order to navigate systems that weren’t built with you in mind.
You may have already tried therapy, read the books, listened to the podcasts, and developed a strong understanding of your history. That insight matters, but you might be ready to move beyond understanding your patterns and begin changing your relationship with them.
What to Expect from Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is collaborative. We’ll identify what you want to change, explore the experiences and patterns connected to it, and work toward goals that feel meaningful in your everyday life.
Sessions may include processing past experiences, noticing emotional and body-based responses, exploring parts of yourself, practicing new ways of responding, or identifying concrete steps toward your goals. We’ll adjust the pace and focus as your needs evolve.
Format: in person in Glendale or online for clients located in California
Age: teens and adults, 15+
Session length: 50 minutes standard; extended 75- or 90-minute sessions are also available upon request
Frequency: Weekly or biweekly
Fee: $200 per 50-minute session
Insurance: I’m not paneled with insurance providers, but I can provide superbills for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
What kind of support are you looking for right now?
Developmental trauma and emotionally immature parents
Growing up with parents who struggled to manage their own emotions, take accountability, or offer consistent emotional support can leave you questioning your own needs and feelings. You might have learned to be the responsible one, keep the peace, anticipate everyone else's moods, or hide parts of yourself to avoid conflict. As an adult, you may struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionism, boundaries, or feeling guilty for putting yourself first.
Relational trauma, domestic violence, and sexual assault
Experiences of abuse, coercion, or violations of your boundaries can affect more than your sense of safety in the moment. You might find yourself second-guessing your judgment, struggling to trust others, feeling disconnected from your body, or having a hard time making sense of what happened. Whether you're processing intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or the lasting impact of a relationship where you didn't feel safe, therapy can help you make space for your experiences, reconnect with your needs, and rebuild trust in yourself.
Identity, belonging, and self-worth
When you're navigating different cultural expectations, exploring your LGBTQIA+ identity, or trying to figure out who you are outside of what others expect of you, it can be difficult to feel grounded in yourself. As a child of immigrants or someone whose identity has been misunderstood or marginalized, you might feel caught between different worlds, responsible for keeping others comfortable, or unsure which parts of yourself feel safe to show. You may struggle with shame, self-doubt, or feeling like you have to earn belonging by being who others need you to be. Therapy can help you untangle your own values from the expectations you've inherited, reconnect with your needs, and build a sense of self that feels more grounded and genuinely your own.
Sociopolitical anxiety and burnout
Living through ongoing political uncertainty, systemic injustice, and threats to the communities you care about can be exhausting. You might feel angry, anxious, helpless, hopeless, or guilty for resting when so much feels wrong. If you're an activist, advocate, or someone deeply affected by what's happening in the world, therapy can help you process these emotions, recognize your limits, and find ways to stay connected to your values without sacrificing your well-being.
Your therapy will be shaped around your experiences, needs, and goals. Depending on what we’re working on, I may integrate several approaches:
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can help you process distressing experiences that continue to affect your present-day life. It may be helpful when you understand what happened but still feel triggered, unsafe, or stuck in familiar responses.
Parts work: Parts work helps you explore the different sides of yourself: the inner critic, the people-pleaser, the part that shuts down, etc. Rather than treating these responses as flaws, we’ll get curious about them and help you build more confidence in how to interact with them.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: ACT helps you make room for difficult thoughts and emotions while taking meaningful action based on your values. This can be especially useful when fear, shame, or other people’s expectations make it hard to move toward the life you want.
Relational and attachment-based therapy: Our early relationships can shape how we experience closeness, conflict, trust, and belonging. We’ll explore how these patterns show up today and practice building a more secure relationship with yourself and others.
Is individual therapy with me a good fit?
I work especially well with people who feel a lot but haven’t had the space to understand or process their emotions. My clients tend to be people who are ready to look beneath the surface, get curious about what they feel, and stop pushing their own needs aside. I offer culturally responsive, LGBTQIA-affirming therapy where you can let your guard down, explore what’s underneath those patterns, and begin making meaningful changes.
If you’re looking for individual therapy in California with a therapist whose lived experiences inform their approach, we can explore whether working together makes sense. A consultation is a chance to ask questions, share what you’re looking for, and get a feel for my style.