Nicole Woolf, LCSW #110339
Seeking help can be scary and exciting, and it takes a lot of bravery and courage to take that initial step. You may be feeling like you are helpless, hopeless, on edge, always on the go, unable to relax, living in the past or the future, constantly misunderstood and isolated, depressed and anxious right now and I commend you for seeking help. I aim to meet you where you are mentally and emotionally and help you grow, learn skills, and adapt to new changes. We may
home in on your ability to identify and check your emotions
relate them to your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and judgments
create and/or strengthen relationships, communication skills, and abilities to stay in the moment
learn to live with a new normal
build new communities or build upon existing communities
Finding the right therapist can be exhausting but there are so many possibilities for positive change that can happen when you do.
We all shine on like the moon, the stars, and the sun. – John Lennon
Some of the Types of Individuals I Work With
My specialty is working with those who are experiencing PTSD and trauma, depression, anxiety, and grief and loss. I appreciate working with a wide and diverse range of individuals that include:
Adult children that had unsafe upbringings and childhood trauma (parents or caregivers that used alcohol or drugs, gang affiliated, had anger issues, were neglectful, etc.)
Intimate Partner/Domestic Violence Survivors
Parents experiencing the loss of a child
Family members of those who died of cancer
Families that recently had a child diagnosed with a disability
Feeling comfortable with the therapist you want to work with is essential to the work we do together, and I have worked with individuals outside of what I have listed as well.
My Style of Therapy and What We May Accomplish
My approach to therapy is tailored to your needs and may include body/mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Some skills we might develop can be:
recognizing your thoughts
learning how to recognize stress and its intensity (Is your heart beating fast? Are you breathing hard? Do you feel like you are no longer present or in your body?)
learning how to calm down (deep breathing, staying in the moment, being able to reassure yourself, etc.)
setting goals that don’t feel too easy or too hard
We will look at the whole you, draw off your strengths, capabilities and resiliency to develop these skills. We will also look at your past experiences, how they may be affecting you today and how you respond to certain people, situations and things. Drawing connections between the past and now can be one of the hardest things to do alone since we often think of our experiences as normal.
What Is body/mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Body/mindfulness infuses the idea of how biology influences mental health and vise versa. Our bodies can hold onto trauma and can rewire the way we think about daily life and our interactions with each other. We may find ourselves reacting in ways that may not make sense for the situation, leading us to feel misunderstood, isolated, and lonely. We can counteract our behavior by learning to listen to ourselves, stay present in the moment, and calm. Mindfulness can mean observing yourself (your thoughts, heartbeat, breathing) and your surroundings in a way that will bring you calm.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy helps identify conflicting ideas and beliefs that may improve with acceptance and change. This approach helps us with our overwhelming emotions, difficulties managing stress, and figuring out our relationships.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy targets behaviors and ways we think that are not helpful. We learn how to recognize thoughts and reevaluate them, understand our behaviors and what motivates them, learn problem-solving skills and build confidence with this intervention.
About Me:
I am a University of Southern California School of Social Work alumna and have worked in public schools, Department of Mental Health contracted community settings as well as in private practice. I have worked with 5-year-olds and up and with a range of symptoms like hopelessness, helplessness, sadness, grief, inattentiveness, anxiety, defiance, insecurity, inability to manage, identify or cope with emotions and feeling unsafe.
I utilize a psychodynamic approach to therapy that includes, but is not limited to, CBT, DBT and Mindfulness. I attempt to help reduce you stress, depression, anxiety and trauma related symptoms by providing a safe space to process your experiences and gain invaluable insight on yourself. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW #110339).
I also have a master’s degree from San Francisco in Education with a concentration in Equity and Social Justice. My thesis focused on superheroes and villains in comic books and how they can teach individuals about people with disabilities. DC, Marvel and the Watchmen were my primary sources of research because of their popularity and I figured that if I was going to write a long research paper on something, I might as well make it interesting! I also studied the structure of languages (aka Linguistics) as my BA from UC Berkeley but do not speak any of the languages I studied (go figure).
I am a native Angelino and like to tinker and build cars, listen to the music break downs found on Sessions with Christian James Hand, hang out with family on my downtime. I admit that I watch Battle Bots, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Schitt’s Creek.
Individual therapy sessions are 50 minutes/$150 per session and couples sessions are 50 minutes/$170 per session.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for a free 20-minute consultation. I look forward to connecting with you.
Phone: (213) 375-5366
Email: nicolewoolf@outlook.com