Integrative Psychotherapy for individual adults, adolescents and families
Therapy that honors your resiliency and supports healing, growth and change
Hi, I’m Shoshana (she/her).
I am a trans woman and licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. My goal is to provide a warm, non-judgmental space where you can feel heard, deepen your knowledge of yourself, and make desired change. I approach the therapeutic process with openness, reverence, curiosity, and a desire to understand your unique experience.
I am committed to inclusive, effective, and anti-oppressive practice. I strive to create an affirming and empowering space, where all aspects of your identity and all parts of you are respected and met with care.
My relational and trauma-informed approach stems from nearly 10 years of experience in a diversity of treatment settings and therapeutic approaches.
Who I work with:
Trauma and complex trauma (CPTSD)
Transgender & Queer experience
Neurodivergence (Autism / ADHD / OCD)
Chronic / Toxic Shame
Attachment, relationship and intimacy issues
Dissociation
Family systems conflict
Grief and loss
Identity, culture, and experiences of oppression
Sexuality, kink & Polyamory
I work with individual adults, adolescents and offer parent coaching sessions. My practice is LGBTQIA2S+ affirming, and I welcome people of all backgrounds and identities. Some of my areas of interest and experience include:
My Practice:
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Complex trauma refers to experiences of multiple, chronic and prolonged traumatic events that often start early and are relational in nature, such as childhood abuse or neglect. Complex trauma often leaves us with “attachment wounds” that negatively impact the development of our sense of self, our relationships, and worldview. CPTSD often shows up as chronic feelings of shame, guilt, worthlessness, and hopelessness, challenges in our ability to trust others and maintain relationships, as well as dissociative symptoms and chronic physical health issues. I utilize the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), which integrates top-down (cognitive) and bottom-up (somatic/body-oriented) therapies and was developed to treat CPTSD. I also integrate practices from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). The goal is to increase self-awareness and self-compassion, improve your ability to track changing emotional states, gather skills and resources to regulate your nervous system and help your mind, body and relationships feel more secure.
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Queer experience, by definition, goes against the grain. Queer people often have to develop unique and joyous forms of resilience to resist harmful environments and institutions, including therapist’s offices. For many, working with a queer-identified (not just affirming) therapist reduces pressure to translate your daily experience and works to increase trust, safety and effectiveness in the therapeutic process.
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These developmental periods involve novel challenges as well as opportunities to foster lasting social and emotional resources. Therapy offers a place to land, reflect, learn skills and support growth. Therapy often focuses on developing mindfulness and emotional regulation skills, navigating identity, shifting family dynamics, friendships, and meaningful engagement in the world.
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Psychodynamic therapy offers a space for meaningful reflection, healing, and growth within the context of a trusting therapeutic relationship. Together, we’ll work to gain insight into your unique history and experience in the world. Coming to know and understand the many layers of your experience can soften the hold of old patterns and make room for new, preferred ways of living and connecting.
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Parents often struggle to adjust their parenting strategies and maintain connection with their teens as developmental needs change in adolescence. Parent coaching is especially useful for families stuck in high-tension dynamics and offers an opportunity to pause, reassess, and support parents in a “parallel process” of growth alongside their teens. In parent coaching sessions, we focus on understanding interferences to parent-teen connection, internal work for parents, increasing parental emotional regulation, shifting from control to connection, and creating structure and accountability through boundary-setting.
About Shoshana
I am a trans woman and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles. Just like you, I have many experiences that form my identity. Each of these experiences have helped me become the person I am today - someone who wants to understand myself, others and the world more deeply.
I received my MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and my MSc. in Psychological and Psychiatric Anthropology from Brunel University, London. I also hold a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. My background in social sciences helped me develop an appreciation for the incredible diversity of ways that we seek to heal and make meaningful change in our lives and communities.
I have nearly 10 years of experience supporting clients with a wide variety of concerns, histories, and identities. Prior to working as a therapist, I started out by volunteering on Didi Hirsch’s National Suicide Prevention Center Hotline supporting individuals experiencing increased risk for suicide. I also worked for several years as a Permanent Supportive Housing case manager supporting unhoused community members access housing, health and financial resources across Los Angeles county.
My graduate clinical training began at the the Valley Community Counseling Clinic, a community resource providing accessible, low-fee psychodynamic psychotherapy to residents of the San Fernando Valley. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I returned to working with the unhoused community at the People Concern’s outpatient Wellness Center on Skid Row, where I further developed my work with experiences of systemic oppression and complex trauma. I went on to hold a Post-Graduate Fellowship position at the University of Southern California, where I supported graduate and undergraduate students, ran groups, and worked with survivors of sexual violence through the office Relationship & Sexual Violence Prevention Services and Student Mental Health. I finished my clinical training and continued after licensure at the residential level of care supporting families and adolescents in crisis. There, I provided individual, group, milieu and family-based therapies and worked and learned as part of a skilled, multidisciplinary team supporting a wide range of clinical issues.
Outside of my therapy practice, I facilitate monthly peer-support groups for transgender children, teens and young adults though a local non-profit. I’ve always cared deeply for animals and, in a past life, I spent my summers volunteering at wildlife sanctuaries and hospitals. Today, I enjoy beach days, cycling, live music, and caring for my feline bestie, Crow.
How To Get Started:
1. Free Consultation
We start with a free 15-minute call to understand what is currently brining you in and what your hopes are for therapy. During this call we will get a sense of whether starting therapy together would be beneficial, or, if you might be better served by another provider more aligned with your needs.
2. Intake Session
In our first session, we will collaborate to better understand what is bringing you to therapy and how it affects you today. We will explore and set tentative goals and I will answer any questions or concerns you might have about the therapy process. We will also review important therapeutic guidelines to ensure you know what to expect throughout therapy, such as the frequency of sessions, communication between sessions, exceptions to confidentiality, and the fee.
3. Ongoing Therapy
The course of each therapy is unique. Whether our work together is brief or extended, we will work to understand patterns, build resources and skills, and work to help your body, mind and relationships feel safer.
FAQ’s:
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Individual adult / adolescent: $185.
Parent Coaching: $215
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Sessions are 45-50 minutes.
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Payment is due at time of service via credit/debit card.
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I currently only offer virtual Tele-Health sessions.
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I am in the process of registering as provider under MediCal and will be reserving a portion of my caseload for low-income clients on MediCal. Otherwise, I do not work with insurance providers. Remaining out-of-network allows me to be more available between sessions, to stay consistently present, and to continue my clinical development through training. It also allows for more intentional treatment decisions and leads to more sustainable, individualized care.
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You can use out-of-network benefits, HSAs, and FSAs to help offset the cost of therapy. I am happy to provide you with a monthly invoice that you can submit to your insurance provider.
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Yes, I do reserve a portion of my slots for sliding scale clients. Please feel free to ask about this during our consultation.
I have a limited number of lower and low-income spots. If those spots are full when you inquire, you can be placed on my waiting list and will be notified of any openings, or given referrals for other providers if your need is more urgent.
Feeling unsure about therapy?
That’s completely normal. I offer a free 15-minute consultation. Let’s connect and see if working together feels right.
There are many ways to heal and foster change. My goal is to help you access supports that ultimately work for you.