Therapists in Carlsbad and Encinitas

All therapy involves a strong and safe enough relationship.

Individual Therapy

We work with people of all ages on a wide variety of subjects, and have specialties that include anxiety, depression, relationships, issues with sexuality, and issues with religion and spirituality. People tend to come to therapy when they are suffering, and stay in therapy because they are motivated by the growth, strength, and freedom they experience. We see all of our patients at least once per week at the beginning of treatment and some choose to come multiple times per week.

Couples Therapy

We work with couples who are dating, thinking about taking the next step, engaged, or married. Whether the therapy is to resolve conflict, heal wounds from the past, establish healthy boundaries, or simply strengthen the relationship, no matter the issue, we are here to help. Regaining relational intimacy is accomplished through honest and connected experiences.

Group Therapy

Are you interested in working toward your goals with a group of other people invested in their growth? Groups have a wonderful way of recreating emotional and relational experiences you have outside of the group, while giving you the support you need to choose new ways to respond. We are now currently recruiting any members for new therapy groups.

What is psychotherapy?

Therapy is a different experience for everyone based on their needs, resources, and motivation. However, there are certain aspects of therapy that tend to create positive results. Those include getting specific, being curious, a strong therapeutic relationship, and taking risks. Change does not happen in the abstract. In therapy, the patient is invited to help the therapist get to know how they experience themselves and their relationships in varying situations.  Being curious together of the person’s experience allows the therapeutic relationship to develop naturally. Fostering a healthy, attuned, and strong therapeutic relationship is central to our work here at Coastal, as it helps the patient to feel free to share, explore themselves, and take risks both inside of therapy and in their lives. Freud once wrote in a letter to Carl Jung that therapy was essentially a “cure through love,” which is something that he thought was self-evident. By experiencing something different in therapy, a person can begin to transform how they experience themselves and their relationships with others. It is also within the context of a secure and supportive relationship that we are able to offer the most specific and tailored descriptions of what would likely be most helpful for you.

 

What Specific Types of therapy do you provide?

Good question. There are certainly many types of therapy and being educated about the approaches may save you considerable time and energy. While we have been trained in and utilize the benefits of many theoretical orientations (e.g., CBT, DBT, & EFT) we primarily use psychodynamic psychotherapy, a type of therapy that believes that genuine and connected relationships create the most lasting and positive change.  To learn more about psychodynamic psychotherapy, you can read the article, The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy by Jonathan Shedler or watch this video about psychotherapy. It is a robust, evidence-based therapy that is well-suited for people who want to be understood and want a therapy that will help them transform their lives.

For couples, we provide Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT). We like this form of therapy because it understands that change happens in the experience of emotions that are shared together. To regain intimacy or repair after a relational injury, it requires the safety and support to form a new connection. This process takes place in the therapy room with your partner. Every person has a specific attachment history that informs how they experience and expect love. Understanding the attachment needs of yourself and your partner will help you be able to recognize the needs as they are experienced within the therapy room. By recognizing, verbalizing, and processing these needs, couples learn to connect in deeper ways and stop destructive patterns in their relationship.

 

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