Services
My Services & Approach
Early Childhood Trauma
Trauma can leave you feeling burned out, alone, and overwhelmed. You are someone whose past is interfering with your ability to be intimate in relationships and view yourself the way you would like to. You find yourself triggered in certain relationships and struggle to make sense of why. You have a sense that events from your childhood may be impacting you and causing you to react. You’re ready to feel a sense of hope that things will get better. Most of all, you’re ready to reconnect with the experience of loving yourself and all the parts of you. I specialize in working with adult children who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes.
Anxiety and Perfectionism
I am here to support you in facing your fears of being imperfect. You may find yourself missing out on things you wish you could participate in due to limiting beliefs and low self worth. You may be receiving constant reassurance and external validation from others that you don’t need to be perfect. These comments are probably only providing short term relief. Intellectually you may realize that you don’t need to be perfect but you can’t seem to stop picking yourself apart. Our work will offer long term relief so you can find a sense of peace in the uncertainty of not having to be perfect.
Substance Use Recovery
Whether you are sober curious, in recovery, or leaving a residential program I can support you. I am 12-step and harm reduction friendly. I believe in collaborating with you to achieve your goals as well as work on any underlying trauma and anxiety that may be impacting your daily life. I have worked in substance use treatment running groups and working with clients individually for the past three years.
Internal Family Systems
Internal Family Systems was created by Dick Schwartz and is a holistic model to treating anxiety, PTSD, substance use and many other issues. IFS believes that we have multiplicity of mind (parts). These parts have their own personalities, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It also places a lot of emphasis on attachment and how important healthy attachments are in our external relationships. We are made up of these internal parts that took on roles. We seek to understand and get to know these parts of us because it’s valuable. Sometimes this can look like talk therapy or guided meditations to bring you closer to your inner world. Here is more information on IFS.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic therapy seeks to uncover how our childhood experiences and attachments are impacting our present day experiences. It seeks to provide you with greater insight into your emotions and why you might behave the way you do.
CBT and ERP
I have extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention. ERP is the gold standard treatment for the treatment of OCD. I use these modalities to support our work if you find yourself struggling with mental rumination, automatic negative thoughts, and being driven by your thoughts.
Trusted Guidance
Building Self Energy
In IFS we seek to uncover the Self. Everyone is born with a Self it’s just allowing Self energy to be the leader in your life more often. When we talk about Self I’m talking about who you are at the most fundamental level. The real you. The Self seeks to bring harmony to your inner system and has no agenda or judgements. The Self is curious and compassionate about your experiences. My hope is for you to connect with Self more and more through our work together.
Forming Healthier Relationships
Cultivating authentic connections is so important for sustainable growth and healing. I believe in identifying real support systems where you can go to in times of distress. Often this is difficult if you grew up in a home where your needs were neglected, you felt invisible, and were always in the role of parent. You may have difficulty trusting others with vulnerable aspects of you. We work through childhood patterns and attachments to get to a place that feels ok to take healthy steps towards intimacy.
Being Human
Having self compassion and accepting yourself as you are with all of your flaws, shame, guilt and feelings is what being a human is all about. Often we are taught to have compassion for those around us but not for ourselves. When you get to know your parts and their reasons for doing their jobs you may begin to cultivate compassion for the roles they took on when you were a child.
Services
Trauma Recovery
Anxiety and Perfectionism Substance Use Recovery
Contact
(818) 732-0948
therapywithsandra@gmail.com
Calabasas, CA