Finding the Right Therapist in Orange County: A Quality-First Guide
In a world filled with noise, scrolling, and surface-level solutions, seeking therapy is a radical act of self-respect. But once you’ve made that courageous decision, the next step — finding the right therapist — can feel daunting, especially in a place as saturated and diverse as Orange County. This guide is designed to help you […]
Divorce Recovery: Healing from Relationship Endings with Dignity
By Mitch Keil, Psychodynamic Psychologist Divorce marks the end of a significant chapter in one’s life, and like any ending, it brings with it a mix of grief, confusion, relief, longing, and vulnerability. While the legal process might conclude with a signature, the emotional and psychological journey of divorce unfolds much more slowly. For those […]
High-Functioning Anxiety: When Success Masks Inner Turmoil
A Psychodynamic Perspective on a Hidden Struggle In a world that prizes productivity, outward success often serves as both armor and disguise. The term high-functioning anxiety has emerged to describe individuals who seem composed, accomplished, and driven—yet live with a persistent undercurrent of dread, self-doubt, and emotional tension. From a psychodynamic lens, this experience is far more […]
Psychodynamic Therapy in Orange County: A Deep Dive Approach
Uncovering the Unconscious, Healing Through Relationship In today’s fast-paced world, where therapy is often expected to deliver quick results, psychodynamic therapy offers something more enduring: depth, reflection, and transformation. Instead of just managing symptoms, it asks deeper questions—Why do I feel this way? Why does this pattern repeat? What lies beneath my reactions? This approach […]
Why Mindfulness is a Mental Health Superpower
Mindfulness can teach you that there is beauty and richness in allowing and participating in even the difficult feelings. It’s all experience, it is all elements of living this life, so why not show up for it?
Attachment
Attachment and attachment theory is a fascinating subject within the broad domain of psychology that provides meaningful insights into your life. Attachment and attachment theory is a fascinating subject within the broad domain of psychology that provides meaningful insights into your life.
Carl Rogers and Potatoes
“I remember that in my boyhood, the bin in which we stored our winter’s supply of potatoes was in the basement, several feet below a small window. The conditions were unfavourable, but the potatoes would begin to sprout — pale, white sprouts, so unlike the healthy green shoots, they sent up when planted in the […]
Self-Love: What is it?
Self-love is less about the ability to withstand loneliness or establish independence and more about awareness and acceptance of our incompleteness. It’s about letting others love us even when we feel unlovable because their version of us is often kinder than our own.” “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” ————————————————————————————————- “Self-Love.” […]
Living for the Highs or Living for Meaning
During undergrad and grad school I volunteered at a hospice company called Silverado Hospice. In addition to offering support and care to those who needed it, one of the great byproducts of this experience was getting to hear peoples thoughts, feelings, and stories at the end of life. What did people tend to think about […]
The Stories We Live By
The Stories We Live By: How Narrative Shapes Identity, Trauma, and Change “This is what fools people: A man is always a teller of tales. He lives surrounded by his stories and the stories of others; he sees everything that happens to him through them—and he tries to live his life as if he were […]
