Sarah LaTessPhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Availability
In Pacific Time
What is your style/approach to therapy?
My approach to therapy is client-centered: supportive, warm, empathic, and collaborative. Ultimately my goal is to create a safe space where clients can be their authentic selves and feel truly understood.
What does a first session with you look like?
The first session is a time to get to know you and what you are seeking from therapy. If you have had prior therapy experiences and feel comfortable sharing, I would like to hear what worked and your likes/dislikes from those experiences so that I can tailor my approach accordingly. I am mindful of the fact that seeking therapy can be difficult, so my aim in the first session is to create a safe space to be vulnerable and answer any questions that may arise regarding how therapy will look/my approach to treatment.
In what ways does your personality influence your approach to therapy?
I have an easygoing personality, thus my therapy style typically falls on the less directive side of the spectrum. I have also used humor to help me cope in my life, so I may use humor (when appropriate and welcomed by the client) in my therapeutic approach as well.
Specialties
Depression
Depression often causes people to feel sad, empty, or hopeless, and can cause a lack of interest in life. It can also affect a person's thinking patterns and physical health.
Anxiety
Anxiety can mean nervousness, worry, or self-doubt. Anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that entails excessive, repeated bouts of worry, anxiety, and/or fear.
Relationship Issues
Refers relationship issues with a partner or spouse. Can include issues related to relationship distress, relationship satisfaction, communication, intimacy, etc.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the degree to which a person feels confident, valuable, and worthy of respect. Feeling low self-esteem can influence overall well-being and be linked to anxiety and/or depression.
Life transitions
Positive and negative change can be difficult, including things like moving, breaking up, adjusting to parenthood, or changing careers. It’s normal to feel stressed, however, life transitions can inhibit people from living healthy lifestyles.
General Expertise
Abuse/Survivors of abuse
Abuse includes any significant mistreatment along the lines of psychical, emotional, sexual, verbal, and neglect. Survivors of abuse may experience negative thoughts and feelings, flashbacks, distrust of others, social withdrawal, self-harm, and increased likelihood of developing mental health and substance abuse issues.
Adolescent mental health
Adolescent mental health focuses on adolescent-specific experiences including physical and cognitive development, social and environmental factors, sex, sexual identification and orientation, emotional processing, and substance use. Given the influence that parents/guardians have on adolescents, home life is a particularly important consideration.
Anger management
It's normal to experience anger at times, but for some, it becomes so frequent, intense, or difficult to control that it negatively affects their life. Anger management is a structured therapeutic approach toward reducing one’s anger to a point where more appropriate coping and/or conflict management skills are used. Beliefs and thoughts leading toward anger outbursts are explored while healthy coping and interpersonal skills are put into practice.
Attachment issues
Children that experience parents and/or guardians that are avoidant, ambivalent, or resistant from an early age, may develop attachment issues. This can manifest as difficulty forming or maintaining friendships, romantic relationships and empathetic bonds throughout life, as well as other issues.
Fees
$200
First Session
$220
Family Therapy
$220
Couples Therapy
$200
Individual Therapy
Types of Therapy
Family Session
Couples Session
Individual Session
Clientele
Young Adults (18-24)
Adults (25-65)
Seniors (65+)
Adolescents (13-17)
Treatment Approaches / Modalities
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Attachment-Based Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Forensic Therapy
Humanistic Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Training / Certifications
Forensic Concentration Certificate, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2015
Licensure
CA, Psychologist, 31320
Education
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology
M.S., Clinical Psychology, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology
M.A., Educational Psychology, Columbia University
B.A., Psychology, University of Arizona
Location
GROVER BEACH, 93433, CA