Welcome!
I'm Deanna and I offer virtual telehealth services all across California.
How Can Therapy
Help You?
Therapy can be used as a unique time and space where you can reconnect with yourself and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and growth. There may be some initial discomfort. Healing and growth can be difficult, and some discomfort will likely be a part of your therapeutic experience. You may be guided to find hope. Or you are engaged in setting goals, making plans, practicing skills, processing experiences, or simply just talking. Oftentimes, therapy is where our paths cross for an important time in your life until help is no longer needed. Understanding and validation can be the deepest healing experience for anyone.
Reasons to Seek Therapy
Depression
I have experience using CBT techniques to help children, teens, and adults overcome persistent low and depressed moods, as well as suicidal ideation. Together, we will help you identify triggers and understand your emotions and origins of negative thoughts, explore safe and positive coping skills, improve low self-esteem and self-confidence, expand your support system, and help you achieve a clearer idea of your identity and strengths.
Anxiety
I have experience using CBT techniques to help children, teens, and adults overcome various forms of anxiety ranging from social anxiety, panic attacks, intrusive/irrational thoughts, phobias, health anxiety, stress, and perfectionism. We will learn the purpose anxiety serves in daily life, identify where your anxieties stem from, practice different relaxation skills, role play scenarios, and collaborate to help you reach a point where you're more in control of your anxiety.
Individual Therapy for Teens
Growing up is a particularly challenging time for a teen who is developing their identities, navigating social/school stressors, learning to be independent, and trying to figure out everything on their own. Many factors including post pandemic social issues and even technology can negatively a teen's mental health. A teen that becomes withdrawn, isolated, and resistant to opening up can result in feeling alone. Therapy can lead to better control of intense emotions and improved relationships with loved ones.
Some areas in which I can help include:
Depression, Anxiety, Emotional Problems, Stress, Bullying Issues, Self-Esteem, Body Image Issues, Social Relationship Issues, Behavioral Issues, Trauma, Difficult Parent-Child Interactions, and Relational Issues with Peers/Adults.
Family Therapy
It is common for parents to struggle to understand their child's emotions, with clashing beliefs and values, and feel at a loss for words. I believe parent involvement is a key component in helping their child learn and develop healthier coping skills, communication skills, and problem solving skills. Parent involvement in family therapy will look different for each family depending on your child’s age. There may be individual parenting sessions and/or family sessions.
I am trained in a variety of Evidence-Based Practices (Triple P Child and Teen; Managing Adapting Practices) that equip me to teach and provide parent training and skills to help parents work as a team to improve your child's mood, behavioral issues, and family connections and relational problems.
Adults & Teens Experiencing Life Transitions
I understand that life transitions can be challenging as I've been through many. Some common transitions throughout life for everyone includes: school/career/job issues, relational issues, family challenges/stress, adjustment to a new location, grief & loss, and much more. There are stressors, goals, and milestones to prepare for, as well as endless changes throughout our various stages of life, which may exacerbate pre existing anxiety and depressive symptoms and even other mental health conditions.
Low Self-Esteem
Sometimes low self-esteem can deeply impair us from daily life and ability to take care of our responsibilities in order to be a thriving human being. You may be struggling with this if you find it difficult to make decisions, to speak what's on your mind, and even to stand up for yourself. Low self-esteem shows up and has a tendency to make you feel really small and insignificant. With guidance from me, you will learn skills to reconnect with yourself, be self-confident, and unlock and activate your strengths.
Therapeutic Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
An evidenced-based therapy used to help you develop a deeper understanding on how core beliefs can impact your quality of life and relationships. Unhelpful negative thought patterns about the self and the world can be deeply embedded in us. Learning to challenge unhelpful thoughts and change learned behavioral patterns will result in more successful coping, improved mood, and confidence in one's abilities.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
I incorporate DBT techniques for those who struggle tremendously with emotional distress and mood disorders. DBT consists of four modules: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness. You will gain skills to improve the moment, cope with distress, regulate emotions, and improve relationships with others.
Family Systems &
Trauma-Informed Care
I believe in exploring intergenerational family patterns, cultural beliefs and values, and overall traumatic experiences to help you gain insight into how they have contributed to your beliefs about who you are today. Oftentimes, unhealthy behavioral patterns or maladaptive ways of coping have been passed down through family due to generational issues and trauma. I create an empathic space for you to fully process this.