Meeting you with a deep and steady presence,
I invite you to arrive as you are.
I'm Annie Newman. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist based in Santa Monica, and I work with individuals and couples who are ready for deep, transformational work. I also coach clients wherever they live.
A free 20-minute conversation to share what brings you here, ask your questions and see whether we're a good fit.
My approach
At the heart of our work lies a trust in your capacity for transformation.
Through vulnerability, resilience emerges. No path is prescribed; yours emerges organically.
I draw on existential psychotherapy and logotherapy, psychodynamic work and EMDR. Underneath all of it is clinical experience, including years as Director of Trauma Recovery Services at an inpatient treatment center.
How I workMy work is existential and spiritual at its core. We can explore meaning and purpose, freedom and responsibility, mortality, and connection. I hold a certification in advanced logotherapy from the Viktor Frankl Institute.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy explores how past experiences, particularly from childhood, shape your current thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By looking at your relationships and recurring themes, we uncover unconscious patterns and unresolved conflicts.
CBT identifies and reshapes unhelpful patterns of thought, emotion and behavior. I bring its principles into our sessions as we go, so we can look at challenges as they come up and build coping skills you can use every day.
Sessions can also include strategic guidance for navigating interpersonal power dynamics in challenging settings. Together we build adaptive strategies for complex arenas, so you keep your poise and confidence as your professional and personal horizons expand.
Clinical depth
I'm EMDR trained through the EMDR Institute.
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, lets you revisit painful feelings, thoughts and beliefs with less distress.
I also use attachment-focused EMDR for relational wounds that begin in early childhood. Complex PTSD is an area I know well.
Read about EMDREMDR uses bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, while you hold a difficult memory in mind. This draws on the brain's ability to form new connections and helps it reprocess traumatic memories, so they carry less charge.
Attachment-focused EMDR works with relational trauma from early childhood, such as disruptions with caregivers. It brings attachment theory into EMDR to help heal insecure attachment and relational wounds.
PTSD usually follows something that happened. A past event leaves distress that hasn't resolved, and it disrupts your thoughts, feelings, behavior and relationships now.
Complex PTSD grows out of harm that went on for a long time inside relationships. Because the harm was prolonged and relational, it tends to leave a persistent emotional and psychological instability, and it shows up most in how you act and relate to others today.
Work with me
I work with individuals and couples who are ready for deep, transformational work.
Therapy in California
Therapy is for individuals and couples in California, where I'm licensed. My therapy process is always customized to you.
Request a free consultationWherever you live
If you live outside California, I offer coaching. We can talk about what brings you here in a free consultation.
Ask about coachingTrauma work
EMDR sits at the center of my trauma work, including complex PTSD. I also use attachment-focused EMDR for early relational wounds.
Read about EMDRMeeting online
Alongside my work with individuals and couples, I lead a group for women. Right now it meets online. Tell me a little about yourself and I'll share how the group runs.
Ask about the women's groupsMeet Annie
Welcome to my practice. The decision to begin therapy is both exciting and challenging. It's a courageous step toward clarity and growth.
I've worked clinically since 2016. From 2016 to 2022 I worked at an inpatient mental health treatment center in California, where I was Director of Trauma Recovery Services. I'm EMDR trained through the EMDR Institute and a certified personality disorder treatment provider.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
California, LMFT 129156
I worked in the private practice office of Jerome Rabow, PhD, LMFT, Professor Emeritus at UCLA, from 2016 to 2021. My clinical background includes work with individuals, couples, families and groups.
Our first conversation
We start with a free 20-minute consultation. You can share what brings you here and ask your questions, and we'll see whether we're a good fit.
From there I'll shape a plan around you, drawing on EMDR, psychodynamic work, CBT or other approaches as they suit you.
We'll reflect on your progress together and adjust as we go.
We talk for about 20 minutes. You can share what's bringing you to therapy, ask anything you'd like, and we'll see whether we're a good fit. There's no charge.
Therapy is for clients in California, where I'm licensed. Coaching is open to people wherever they live. We'll work out which fits in your consultation.
Yes, with the exceptions the law and professional ethics set. I'm required to report suspected abuse or neglect of children, adults or elders, and to act if I believe you're in serious danger of harming yourself or have threatened to harm someone else. If you'd like me to share anything with someone on your care team, I'll ask for your written permission first.
Get in touch
A free 20-minute conversation to share what brings you here, ask your questions and see whether we're a good fit.
Tell me a little about what brings you here and how to reach you, and I'll be in touch to arrange it.
Based in Santa Monica, California.
Therapy for clients across California, and coaching wherever you live.