Depth-Oriented Therapy in Newport Beach, California
My Approach
A Collaborative, Integrative Approach
Therapy is deeply personal, and there isn’t one approach that works for everyone. I approach our work collaboratively, shaping therapy around your needs, your pace, and what feels most meaningful to you.
Bridging Behavioral and Depth-Oriented Therapies
Early in my career, I trained extensively in approaches such as CBT, DBT, ERP, and ACT. These therapies gave me a strong foundation in practical tools that can help reduce distress, build coping skills, and support meaningful change.
But sometimes you can know the skills, understand what you’re “supposed” to do, and still find yourself pulled back into the same patterns. You might think, I know this isn’t helping me, so why do I keep doing it? Or, I understand where this comes from, but I still can’t seem to change it.
Over time, I became increasingly interested in what our symptoms might be communicating and why certain patterns can be so difficult to change. Our struggles don’t happen in isolation. They develop within the context of our experiences, relationships, emotional pain, and the ways we’ve learned to cope with what life has asked of us.
This led me toward depth-oriented approaches, particularly Jungian and psychodynamic therapies, which invite us to look beyond the symptom itself and explore the meaning it may hold within the larger context of your life.
Today, my work brings this depth-oriented perspective together with practical support. We’ll pay attention to what’s happening in your life right now while also slowing down to understand the patterns that keep showing up and the role they may have played in your life.
Rather than seeing symptoms only as problems to get rid of, we can listen to what they may be telling us. What has this helped you manage? What might it be expressing or protecting? Why might something you genuinely want to change also be difficult to let go of?
As these patterns become clearer, there is more room for new ways of responding to emerge. The goal isn’t simply to manage symptoms better, but to help you understand yourself more deeply and create meaningful change in the way you experience yourself, your relationships, and your life.
Common Questions About Therapy
Depth-oriented therapy is interested not only in what you’re struggling with, but in understanding where certain patterns come from and what they may be trying to do for you.
We’ll pay attention to your experiences, relationships, emotional patterns, and the ways you’ve learned to cope over time. We’ll also explore the role a symptom may be playing in your life now—what it might be protecting, expressing, or asking you to pay attention to.
Rather than seeing symptoms only as problems to get rid of, we approach them with curiosity and make space for what they might have to tell us.
This doesn’t mean we ignore what’s happening in your life right now. There is room for practical support and symptom relief too. Depth-oriented therapy allows us to hold both—helping you navigate what you’re experiencing while developing a deeper understanding of yourself and creating space for something new.
Absolutely. Practical tools and coping strategies are an important part of my work, especially when you need support managing distress, regulating emotions, navigating relationships, or getting through something difficult in your day-to-day life.
How much we focus on practical support will depend on what you need. At times, our work may be more structured and focused on what’s happening right now. At other times, we may slow down and spend more time understanding the patterns and experiences that continue to shape you.
For me, therapy isn’t either/or. We can work on what helps you navigate your life today while also making space for the deeper work that supports meaningful change over time.
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Counseling in Newport Beach & across California
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