Meet Our L.A. Therapists and Counselors

 

Katrina Wood, Ph.D, Director
Specialty areas: Depth work. Recovery. Early childhood trauma, affect and emotional revitalization. Inner-child integration. Anxiety and depression. Dream exploration. Author of That's Not Love! This Is. Writes the psychology blog Shrink Central. Dr. Wood's line of children's stories on CD helps kids expand their imaginations and learn to relax.

Clarissa Abijaoude, MA, MFT
Specialty areas: Women's issues, substance abuse and recovery support, relationship issues, transitional concerns and phase-of-life problems. Depression, anxiety, abuse. Experience with treating chemically dependent adults as well as assisting their familiy members and support network. Individuals, couples, families. Bilingual: Spanish-English.

A. Marina Aguilar, MFT, CPCC
Specialty areas: Depth psychotherapy. Certified life coach. Adult individuals, couples, teens. Life transitions, depression, grief, trauma, eating disorders, interfaith couples. Spirituality, women's healing and empowerment.

AJ Barnert, MA, MFT
Specialty areas: Parenting, families, adolescents, children, couples, adults. Mood disorders, post-partum depression, premarital counseling, gay and lesbian issues, senior issues. Certified hypnotist. EMDR.

Rachel Baum, MFT
Specialty areas: Parenting, children and families, depression, anxiety, PTSD treatment and recovery.

Terry Birnie, LMFT
Specialty areas: Mood disorders, anger and stress management, relationships, parenting, couples therapy, ADD, young adults and life transitions. Provides services for adolescents, adults, couples and families. Utilizes a Integrative approach comprised of Cognitive, Cognitive-Behavioral, Psychodynamic and Solution Focused Therapies. Training in mindfulness meditation, adult ADD, couples counseling and addiction.

Barbara Breitman, MFT
Specialty areas: Depression, anxiety, family Issues, women's issues, and chemical dependency. Adults, couples, families.

Valarie Cascadden Psy.D, MFT
Specialty areas: Life transitions, midlife issues, grief, loss, parenting, divorce, couples and individuals.

Tina Cruz, LMFT
Specialty areas: Children, teens, families. Spanish/English.

Lynn Di Sarro, LMFT
Specialty areas: Hypnotherapy, couples, adults.

Christine Disimile, LMFT
Specialty areas: EMDR, trauma, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, life transitions. Certified grief counselor, chemical dependency specialist. I take an ecclectic approach, recognizing each client as an individual and tailoring treatment to his or her needs.

Tara Fass, MFT
Specialty Areas: Depth work, healing the wounded inner child, understanding family systems, divorce recovery, co-parenting, empty nest and midlife transitions, launching into adulthood, finding meaning in work and balance in life, blended family and step-parenting Issues, pre-marital and couples counseling, bereavement, sexual abuse and incest recovery. Los Angeles Superior Court certified provider of Co-Parent Education.      

Spencer Figueroa, MFT, General Manager
Specialty areas: Adults, couples, teens, depression, anxiety, existential issues, life transitions and anger. Utilizes interpersonal, existential and psychodynamic approaches.

Richard Gadue, MFT
Specialty areas: Gestalt, Jungian and cognitive behavioral therapies for individuals, couples who may be struggling with relational and/or life transition issues, substance abuse, co-dependency, depression, anxiety, panic, gay and lesbian issues, (coming out, parents of gays, senior adjustment) mood disorders, grief, personality disorders, PTSD, returning veterans, death and dying, spiritual and existential issues.

Daniel Goldin, MFT
Speciality areas: Couples, teens. Addiction, recovery, relapse prevention. Harm-reduction treatment.

Lauren Goldstein, LCSW
Speciality areas: Young adults in their 20s and 30s, women's issues, gay/lesbian/bisexual issues, personal growth, self esteem, mind-body health, relationships and interpersonal challenges. Grief and loss.

Nicole Hoffman, Psy.D
Speciality areas: Children, adolescents and family therapy. Transitionally aged youth (17-25). Parenting. Autism spectrum disorders. Depression, anxiety, anger management, obessive-compulsive disorder. Communication issuses and family systems, resolving conflict.

Lillian Huang, LMFT
Speciality areas: Children, adolescents and young adults; individual and family therapy. Trained in somatic experiencing, healing trauma using a body/mind approach. Mood disorders, PTSD, stress and trauma-related disorders, sexual, physical, emotional abuse and unresolved parent-child relationships. Utilizes interpersonal and psychodynamic approaches.

Marlene Vance Jaffe, MSW, LCSW
Specialty areas: Children 10 years and older, adolescents and adults; family and individual therapy. Parent education, trauma, anxiety and mood disorders; grief/loss and relationship issues, postpartum and attachment issues. Step/blended family concerns and the effects of divorce on children. Extensive experience with persons and families of color; biracial and interracial clients/families.

Julia P. Kantor, LMFT
Specialty areas: Individuals, couples, teens. Relationship issues, premarital counseling, depression, anxiety, life transitions. Post-partum adjustment, babyproofing marriages, writer's block, creativity/artist issues, cross-cultural issues. Fluent in Russian and French.

Louise Kerr, LMFT
Specialty areas: Individuals and couples. Specializing in relationship issues, work/career and midlife issues, stress reduction, anxiety, panic, trauma, depression, chronic pain and grief.

Jodi Milstein, MA, MFT
Specialty areas: Substance abuse and dependence, eating disorders, body image concerns, relationship issues, premarital counseling, blended families, women's issues, fertility challenges and postpartum depression. Drawing upon nearly two decades as a music industry executive, I specialize in providing therapy to musicians and bands in an effort to help them improve personal relationships and group dynamics.

Chuck Moshontz, LMFT
Specialty areas: Relationship problems and couples counseling, family relationships, children and adolescents, sadness, grief and depression. Job difficulties, substance abuse, lack of social support and loneliness, life-transition issues such as the empty nest and midlife crisis. Aging, illness, death. Fundamental questions about identity, living a rich and meaningful life. Also teaches, trains and supervises beginning psychotherapists.

Agnes Oh, Psy.D., LMFT
Specialty areas: Relational issues, grief/loss, couples therapy, dual diagnosis, mood disorders, life-transition issues. Parenting, family therapy, behaviorally challenged children and adolescents. Provides services for children, adolescents, adults, couples and families via integrative and highly individualized approach.

Tiffany Pang
Administrative assistant

Allison Parker, MA, LMFT
Specialty areas: Early childhood, children, adolescents, and families. Trauma, child abuse, domestic violence, depression. Autistic/Asperger's disorders, ADHD, parenting, school-related issues and play therapy. Bilingual: English/Spanish.

Zainy Pirbhai, MFT
Speciality areas: Registered art therapist. Play therapy. Credentialed school counselor school/behavior issues. Adolescents, teens, young adults, children. Depression, grief and loss. Speaks Urdu.

Barbara Robertson, MFT
Specialty areas: Adults, older adults, adolescents, preadolescents (age 9 and up). Individuals: Depression, anxiety, stress, problems of living, mood disorders, addictions, anger management, self-esteem building/assertion training. Couples: Increasing communication and intimacy, arguing constructively, dealing with differences. Divorce. Families: Parenting, family systems, resolving conflict.

Tamara Robinson, MA, LMFT
Specialty areas: Adolescents, adult individual, families and couples. Trauma, abuse (physical, sexual, emotional), ACOA issues, family dysfunction (blended families and difficult children). Self-esteem, anxiety, depression and pre- and post-marital conflicts. Trained in EMDR.

Ayana Rose, MFT
Speciality areas: Depression, anxiety, stress reduction, life transitions. Parenting, blended families, new mothers or mothers-to-be, postpartum coaching. Women's issues, empowerment and victims of domestic violence. Adolescents, teens, young adults.

Kristin Scalfaro, MA, MFT (Ventura)
Specialty areas: Individuals, couples. Depression, anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD, life-transition issues, grief/loss, trauma. Divorce, co-parenting. Assist clients to create choices in their lives that help them feel "unstuck."

Dawn K. Scheibley, MFT
Specialty areas: Individuals (children, adolescents, adults, seniors), couples, families. Eating disorders, depression, anxiety, self-mutilation, post-traumatic stress, obsession-compulsion, domestic violence, divorce, parents and children, bereavement/loss.

Kris Topaz, MFT
Specialty areas: Systems therapy for those dealing with trauma and and chronic mental illness. Relational, parenting and behavioral issues. Victims of crime, accidents and domestic violence. Grief and loss. For individuals, couples and families. Bilingual-Spanish.

Beth Tunis, MFT
Specialty areas: Addiction and chemical dependency, co-occurring disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma and life renewal. A licensed therapist who brings over 10 years' experience working with adolescents and adults in individual, couple, family and group counseling. She has worked in the Malibu Rehab community and currently works along with UCLA in its co-occurring disorders research program.

Art Wood
CEO, Wilshire/Valley Therapy Centers

Glenn Abel
Web site direction (Los Angeles)