Clinical Hypnosis and hypnotherapy to assist with: Stop Smoking, Weight Loss, Anxiety, Phobia, Panic, Pain Relief, Self-Improvement, Learning, Memory, Sports Performance, Morning Sickness, Wellness, Self-Esteem, Motivation, Insomnia, Medical Hypnotherapy for prevention. Psycho- neuro- immunology issues are being addressed through medical hypnotherapeutic modalities. Applications of NLP, guided imagery, inner guidance, archetypal work, EFT, age regression, and life coaching to assist in facilitating your healing process and life. Weight loss workshops are ongoing, o assist in managing food triggers, end overeating, release anxieties regarding food, curb cravings and binge eating. Ongoing meditation classes are featured.

I take a holistic, body-mind approach in psychotherapy and work with clients to cultivate a grounded, more compassionate vision of their lives. I am passionate about helping individuals and couples discover a deeper, lasting sense of security and intimacy within themselves and with one another. I will work with you to define and understand the source of your struggle, understand the purpose behind your patterns, reconnect with you essential parts of yourself, and improve your capacity to grow and accept change. I work with DEPRESSION, GRIEF, SHAME, ANXIETY, TRAUMA, RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS, concerns around LIFE TRANSITIONS, as well as the issues surrounding cultural identity. While change is often an opportunity for significant personal growth, it is normal to feel overwhelmed by the internal and external pressures that accompany a change process. I provide a empathic, collaborative healing space in which to explore your thoughts, feelings and questions. My theoretical framework is a combination of insight/depth-oriented, relational, cross-cultural, cognitive and somatic (body-oriented) psychotherapies. It is my belief that transformation and healing ultimately rest within us all. Therapy is a journey toward living more fully and reclaiming peace and wholeness. I do not presume to have the answers or know what is right for you. My job is to help you understand yourself as deeply as possible, so that you live and embrace your relationship with yourself and others in a way that is healthy, vibrant and meaningful for you.

Contact me for Initial Consultation in which I can help answer your questions about psychotherapy and how I practice. After meeting me you'll be able to decide if we work well together. There's no charge for the initial session if you decide not to work with me.

Do you want to start experiencing the success you desire in your most meaningful relationships, in your career or in your academic pursuits? I having been helping individuals like you, for over eighteen years, do just that, using such modalities as individual psychotherapy, counseling for couples and families, and neurofeedback and biofeedback training. All sessions are with me personally, and in a quite private practice setting.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Psychiatric Technician, and Masters level Addictions Counselor in Pasadena, California. Since 1984, I’ve been providing mental health services for adults and adolescents in both inpatient and/or outpatient settings. As such, I have a varied experience with abuse, trauma, depression, grief/loss, issues of personal growth, relationships, stress, and mental illness. During that time I have also worked extensively with addictions (of all types) and related issues (“co-dependency”, eating disorders, alcoholism, dual diagnosis…). My responsibilities have ranged from Licensed Psychiatric Technician (where much of my experience in mental health and medications comes from), to Program Director. Currently I am in private practice, life coaching, teaching, providing clinical supervision to prelicensed therapists, providing some staff training and consultation.

Are you having more intense feelings lately? Tired of trying so hard? Have you lost your creative edge and become too resigned to routine? Life changes. . . even something positive such as a new marriage, child or job can create unfamiliar situations and energies. Anxiety, confusion, irritability or emptiness are signs that its time to check in with yourself. Therapy is often about creating time each week to reflect, question, and evaluate what's going on for you. Many highly sensitive, gifted and talented people have come to pursue what is next with their self understanding and relationship to others. Executives, designers, educators, artists, entrepreneurs, innovators, helping professionals and others have returned over the years to develop further awareness and skills from as far away as Santa Monica, Rancho Palos Verdes, Westlake, La Verne and Downtown LA. Video counseling is available for residents of California (except for psychotherapy). Real-life issues can crop up for those who have emigrated, immigrated, or re-entered the US (within in the last two generations). I have first-hand experience with all three situations and have worked successfully with diplomats, peace corps workers, missionaries and expatriates.

I am a licensed psychotherapist and passionately believe in cultivating health, well-being, and emotional resilience. I bring this passion to my work and I am dedicated to help others in the process of achieving a more balanced life. I have been in private practice for 13 years and have offices conveniently located in Pasadena and Beverly Hills. I believe good mental health begins with an ability to connect the dots of our individual “stories” in order to develop a coherent narrative and "make sense" of that story. To accomplish this, I collaborate with my clients utilizing a variety of interventions including mindfulness practices and EMDR to assist in emotional regulation and symptom relief. I also help my clients identify specific coping strategies that may have brilliantly served them in childhood and adolescence but may no longer be useful or needed today. I help individuals understand themselves, parents better understand their children and help partners express themselves to each other more effectively. My clients are excited by our work and share that they often feel more hopeful and resilient after our sessions. Additionally, they acquire practical tools to take into their day-to-day lives. My current practice includes adults and adolescents struggling with depression, anxiety and relationship difficulties. I also see couples, families and children. I have a special expertise in working with the adoption community and facilitate various groups and workshops throughout the year for adoptees as well as adoptive parents and birth parents. I conduct workshops promoting adoption awareness for educators and mental health professionals. I co-chaired and presented at the First Annual Adopt Salon Conference in November 2012. Featured presenters included Nancy Verrier, Adam Pertman, Marlou Russell and many other leaders in the adoption field. Additionally, as a California approved Clinical Supervisor, I provide supervision and guidance to interns and trainees accruing experiential hours toward MFT licensure. My areas of expertise include: • Relief from depression, anxiety and suffering • Helping couples and families communicate more effectively • Adoption issues: I work with adoptees, adoptive families and couples who are considering adoption. I facilitate support groups and psycho-education groups several times during the year for all members of the adoption and foster care community. • Adolescents struggling with school stress, concentration, peer relations and esteem issues • Parenting concerns • Grief, trauma and loss

Dr. Novello specializes in providing comprehensive assessment and psychotherapy services to high-functioning children, adults, and couples struggling with a variety of symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and relationship problems. Through individualized and compassionate care, she helps clients attain greater satisfaction in their lives by increasing stress management skills and self-esteem. She has an integrative approach and may draw on different psychological approaches during the course of therapy to deal with the struggles that you are currently facing. Therapy is a cooperative endeavor and together you and she will develop treatment goals, which can include relief of symptoms, solutions to specific problems, increased insight, or improved relationships. Dr. Novello strives to provide a safe space in which you can experience uncritical acceptance and explore your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Through focused attention and empathy, she hopes to promote self-understanding and to be a consistent and understanding presence in your life. Therapy involves a large commitment of time, money, and energy, so it’s essential that you feel confident about the therapist you select. Dr. Novello will be happy to answer any questions you may have to help you make an informed decision.

Are you facing a difficult life adjustment or challenge? Having relationship problems? Seeking deeper meaning or value? Experiencing excessive sadness or anxiety? Finding more questions than answers? As a licensed psychologist, I have extensive professional experience addressing many of these issues that may be holding you back from achieving your goals. Therapy is a proven path to developing inner strength and understanding how to overcome life's hardships and be resilient in the face of adversity. My treatment approach for each individual is unique and determined by the presenting circumstances and what the individual(s) hopes to obtain from therapy. My aim is to help people discover workable solutions to improve their lives. This often involves making adaptive changes to the present that will improve the future.

Are you unhappy about the current state of your relationship? Is it hard to communicate with your partner? Does it feel like every conversation starts a fight? Do you feel alone even when your partner is next to you? Are your relationship problems bringing you down, affecting your mood, or making it hard to concentrate at work? Do you remember the better times, back when the two of you were much more in love? Do you deeply desire to repair the relationship and regain intimacy with your partner? If you can relate to these questions, your relationship probably needs some work. As a couples therapy specialist, I can help you and your partner improve your relationship. Couples counseling can help rebuild trust, improve communication, increase intimacy, reduce verbal fighting, resolve re-occurring conflicts, and bottom line is to create a mutually satisfying relationship.

I’m a trained psychotherapist with 15+ years experience working with adults and adolescents. I specialize in treating trauma, anxiety, OCD, depression, self-sabotaging behaviors, and relationship problems. I integrate various treatment approaches and theories in my work with clients, including somatic experiencing, cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, attachment theory, spirituality, and buddhist meditation. I work in an empathic and supportive environment, helping clients to rapidly get to the core issues which keep them stuck in their lives, unhappy in relationships, or chronically depressed, angry, or anxious. Almost always, what creates suffering is the avoidance of painful feelings and/or experiences. When we avoid these painful feelings, we become more anxious, more depressed, or more angry. This leads to a vicious cycle of problems within ourselves (i.e, depression) or in relationships, which cause us even more suffering. By bringing to the surface the deep and buried, often complex, underlying thoughts, emotions, and experiences and working them through (feeling them in the body, understanding their source), this frees them up. And the unwanted feelings (anxiety, depression) or behavior melt away on their own. This then allows us to be more connected to both ourselves and others, to have more intimacy in our relationships and to feel more fulfilled in general. Using this approach, significant and lasting change can happen rather quickly, much quicker than most other therapies out there. And because these changes occur at a deep level, they tend to be lasting.

If you are living with TRAUMATIC events from your past, ranging from insult, abuse, humiliation, violence, attachment wounds, or even subtle disappointments, therapy could be a safe space to address these injuries. Through a collaborative approach and taking into account the mind & body, I join my clients on a journey of exploration, growth, and healing. I can assist you in reconnecting with yourself, feel grounded, and help manage your life more smoothly. My specialties include working with trauma (emotional, sexual, physical, neglect, incest, rape, etc.), attachment issues, dissociation/multiplicity, general relationship issues, anxiety and depression, fears/phobias, grief & loss issues, etc. ​ I am trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), an evidence-based treatment approach shown to help children, adolescents, and their caretakers overcome trauma-related difficulties. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing ( EMDR), Trauma Resiliency Module(TRM), and Brainspotting are a big part of my practice. All modalities are very effective in treating traumas. EMDR is a form of psychotherapy that has been successful in helping people who suffer from trauma, anxiety, panic, disturbing memories, nightmares, etc. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping) while the client attends to past memories and triggers, in efforts to decrease or eliminate emotional distress connected to the memory. TRM is a somatic approach that helps clients with traumatic stress reactions by learning skills to help stabilize the mind and body. Clients will learn to track body sensations and bring balance back to the nervous system. I am a Certified TRM practitioner. Brainspotting is a somatic therapy that helps clients access the subcortical (non-verbal) part of the brain, where trauma is typically stored. According to the creator of brainspotting, David Grand, "where you look affects how you feel." Since our eyes gives us access to the subcortical brain, Brainspotting uses the visual field as a way to helps release stored memories. I also have sexual abuse survivor's groups, for both men and women.

Sky Counseling Center provides professional counseling, life coaching, and spiritual direction for individuals, couples, children, and families in person or online. For a free 15 minute phone consultation and to schedule an appointment, call or text us today.

Natalie is a licensed therapist, content creator and expert speaker based in Pasadena. She helps ambitious, creative millennials increase their emotional resiliency and transform limiting patterns to create the life, love and career of their dreams. Natalie incorporates holistic modalities like mindfulness, somatic psychology and breathwork into her work to support the natural healing process. She offers online secure tele-therapy to California resident adults. Free 15-minute phone consultation.

I work mostly with men who are feeling alone, angry, and ashamed. Most men in our society experience profound isolation and dissatisfaction with their lives, which they think is the way it's "supposed" to be. This couldn't be further from the truth. Our work together addresses these issues so that you can be alive and free. I believe that humans heal through connecting with others and I hope to make that connection with you. My approach also takes into account the larger forces that we have to deal with on a day to day basis in order to help therapy be more effective and lasting. I work from a Psychodynamic and Systemic framework but my honestly and authenticity is offered above all else.

I am a down to Earth therapist who enjoys the relational aspect of therapy and learning who my clients are as individuals. I utilize a variety of therapeutic approaches to best meet the needs of each unique individual or couple. Some of these include Somatic work, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Psychodynamic, and Mindfulness approaches. I am also a Certified Level 1 Gottman Method Couples Therapist, and a Certified Trauma Professional.

We all deserve to feel seen, included, and understood, no matter who we are. As a LGBTQ+ affirmative therapist, my aim is to help you better see yourself in all aspects of who you are, feel more included in relation to those around you, and experience a greater understanding of how you fit into a wider world. Maybe you’re exploring your non-binary gender for the first time. Maybe you’re supporting a transgender family member or partner. Maybe you’re working through relationship challenges as an LGBTQ+ person. Together, we can explore what “seen,” “included,” and “understood” mean for you and how you can achieve them. As a queer and transgender person myself, supporting other LGBTQ+ folks is my personal and professional passion. I strive to create safe, inclusive, judgement-free spaces for clients to explore, heal, and grow. While therapy can be hard work, I'm prepared to work as hard as you are and I'll be there to affirm and support you through the whole process. Reaching out for help can be scary. You're more than valid to feel this way and you’ve been through so much to get this far! I believe you have amazing strengths and vast resources within you and that our work together can help you unearth them. I’m trained in the therapy process, but you’re the expert of your own life. I look forward to learning from you.

I am so glad you’re considering therapy right now. Reaching out for therapy takes courage. It’s a choice to move toward balance, clarity, and wholeness. That movement can look different for everyone: starting therapy for the first time, deepening self-awareness, or finding new ways to connect in relationships. However you arrive, you are welcome here. My background as a teacher shapes the way I approach therapy because I believe in learning together. My role isn’t to “fix” you but to walk alongside you as we explore what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and what kind of change feels meaningful to you. My work integrates evidence-based methods with compassion, cultural humility, and respect for your unique story. I’m deeply trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which teaches us that growth often means holding two truths at once the both/and of any situation. Together, we’ll look at what needs to be accepted before we can move forward — and how to do that in practical, sustainable ways. We can accept ourselves as we are while still working toward change. Together, we’ll focus on building practical skills and insight to help you live a life that aligns with your values. You can expect our sessions to be collaborative, conversational, and guided by your goals. Together, we’ll explore how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors interact, and how we can shift them to better serve you. I also bring a background in body neutrality and body liberation, supporting clients in healing their relationships with their bodies and themselves. If you’ve ever felt unseen, disconnected, or uncertain about your identity, I want you to know you’re not alone. My practice is affirming, sex-positive, and inclusive of LGBTQIA+, POC, and kink communities. I work with adults navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and identity exploration. My goal is for you to walk away from therapy feeling more grounded, empowered, and connected with tools to help you move through life’s challenges with greater ease and authenticity.

Cristina Lugo, LCSW offers compassionate and personalized Therapy for Teens & Adults in Pasadena, helping clients navigate anxiety, stress, trauma, depression, relationship challenges, and major life transitions. Using evidence-based approaches in a supportive environment, the practice focuses on emotional healing, self-growth, and building healthier coping strategies for long-term well-being.