
Every client has different needs, and oftentimes, I find, the same client may have differing needs from one session to the next. Sometimes there is a need to vent, sometimes a need, to be honest with oneself, a need to instill motivation for change, a need to be educated, and a need to be treated. Some of the most useful tools in my toolbox include Motivational Interviewing, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Hypnosis, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Bibliotherapy.
I am not just a psychologist, I am someone who has struggled and continues to grow through my own personal psychotherapy and spirituality as well. I truly love my work, I love to learn, I love my family and friends, and I absolutely love to laugh. I find joy in humor, movement, meditation, nature, animals, adventure and all this life has to offer.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
This fact always surprises people, but I knew at the age of five years old that I wanted to be a psychologist and I have dedicated decades of my life learning about myself, relationships, various approaches to therapy and multiple specializations throughout my career. At the young age of twenty-three years old, I started my psychotherapy career after I attained my master's degree. Working as an intern for twenty hours a week at a local community center with patients who were are recently released from inpatient psychiatric hospitalization for over a decade, while I studied for my Ph.D. at the University of Southern California (USC), prepared me to work with some of the most difficult situations. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the USC counseling center, where I counseled very bright and diverse college students, and where I learned the importance of the relationship dynamic as a tool for therapeutic change. My post-doctoral fellowship was in the counseling center at the Claremont colleges as an eating disorder specialist. It was here that I was able to draw upon my specialty of chemical dependency in my Ph.D. program and implement a technique called motivational interviewing, which I find is helpful for increasing motivation for any type of therapeutic change. After I became licensed by the state of California in 1999, I started a private practice in Redondo Beach, California and have enjoyed working with a wide variety of clients from the age of 13 to 83.
Please call (310) 977-9944 or email me at [email protected] to see if we are a good match.
Being a psychologist and being present for another person is a true gift. I am humbled and honored to walk with each and every one of my clients toward their goals. I provide a supportive environment and provide a variety of interventions.
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Dr. Thompson is extremely compassionate and non-judgemental. She is so present I can feel her tuning in to me! She taught me to recognize what I want and need and to communicate effectively with my partner.
It was nice just to have someone to talk to that wasn’t affected personally by what was going on in my situation like my family and friends who didn’t get it and frustrated me with their constant misguided advice.
Dr. Linda made sure I always felt safe, and this was important for me because I have a history of trauma. I was always in the driver’s seat, but when I needed guidance, she took the wheel and taught me a new skill, or took me down a new road I wouldn’t have previously ventured.
I am 83 years old and I was not sure what a therapist decades younger than I could offer me in therapy, but I have grown so much. Initially, I came in for hypnosis to help with chronic hip pain. Dr. Thompson recorded the session on my phone so that I could listen to it every night as I fell asleep. I am no longer experiencing hip pain! We also discussed my grief around my husband’s stroke which left him unable to speak. This was difficult for me because he was a high functioning attorney prior to this instance. People around me kept telling me that he was still there, but Dr. Thompson explained to me that this is complicated bereavement because the man I knew and loved was gone but his physical body was still here so in a sense I was stuck in limbo. Given my own advanced age, I began to question what happens afterlife and Dr. Thompson helped me understand my own spiritual beliefs better. Our sessions were deep. We discussed the existence of God as I found myself doubting for the first time in my life and afraid. Based on my own spiritual beliefs, Dr. Thompson guided me back to my sense of connection to something greater than myself and reminded me to trust this.
Initially, I gather relevant history information as well as consider what the client's goals are for therapy. All along, I am building rapport with the client, letting them see they can feel safe with me. Based on this, we set goals - whether this is to simply provide space, or increase motivation, overcome a trauma, or develop resilence.
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