Patricia Masters, LMFT
I wish I could show you
when you are lonely or in darkness
the astonishing light of your own being.
- Hafiz
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Temple of Valadier, Genga, Italy
About Therapy
No one wants to suffer. It is normal to use any means necessary to reduce our emotional discomfort. Genetically, as a species, we are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure in order to survive. Culturally, as a fiercely independent country, we have historically looked down upon suffering and have viewed those who suffer as somehow culpable, further impacting our ability to seek help as we deal with our felt sense of shame over our vulnerable condition.
Yet… paradoxically, I have come to deeply know and experience that our suffering is our greatest teacher and the portal to our truest self. It is often when the life we have tried to skillfully engineer doesn’t work out the way we had planned that we find ourselves at a pivotal threshold. It is in this transitional space where we are given the opportunity to be re-introduced to the disowned vital parts of ourselves that have been hidden from us, to re-claim our authenticity and to re-discover our innate wisdom and our unique purpose on this planet.
Through a compassionate, collaborative and emotion focused approach, I have the privilege of helping my clients transform their pain and understand their suffering within the arc of their life story, embody and welcome all of their feelings, discard what is not true for them and embrace what makes them preciously unique and whole human beings. Owning the full range of our feelings and our humanity allows for the emergence of an intrinsic sense of worth, richer relationships with others, a deeper connection with our spirituality, increased creativity and as a client told me, an internal freedom that is delicious.
Service & Areas of Interest
I offer online individual psychotherapy utilizing an integrated repertoire from Dynamic Emotion Focused Therapy (DEFT), Depth Psychology, Psychodynamic and Mindfulness approaches.
Areas of Interest and Specialties include:
Depression and Anxiety
Interpersonal Relationships
Women’s Issues
Aging
Second Half of Life Issues
Personal Growth and Transformation
Spirituality
Older Adult /Geriatric Concerns
Caregiving Concerns
Grief, Loss, Death and Dying
About Me
I have had a passion for helping people all of my life. My pursuit of the field of psychology began at the age of 14 after reading, Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer and discovering a path to self awareness and personal growth.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California Irvine, I went on to earn a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. My pre-licensed counseling experience included working with at-risk youth at Amparo Youth Shelter in Garden Grove, CA and providing counseling and psychotherapy with individuals, couples, families and groups at West County Counseling Center in Huntington Beach, CA.
Upon receiving my Marriage and Family Therapy license in 1995, I maintained a private practice before working as a Community Mental Health Clinician in inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. In this role I provided community education, seminars on a myriad of mental health subjects and ongoing therapy to both adult and geriatric populations. I have also overseen full spectrum care for older adults as a Geriatric Care Manager.
