Beach Cities Psychotherapy
Serving the South Bay Communities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Palos Verdes and surrounding Beach Cities.
We will get in the trenches with you and help you get to the root. We are not nodding-head therapists.
Find a therapist in the beach cities area.
If we’re not the right fit for you, we’ll help you find someone who is.
Serving the South Bay Communities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Palos Verdes
and surrounding Beach Cities.
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we will help you create the change you need and face the challenges that have kept you from getting there.
Why Beach Cities Psychotherapy?
Are you looking for a therapist who lights pretty candles, smiles and nods while you talk about the same problems week after week? If you are, that’s not us.
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we ask the challenging questions and get in the trenches with you. Sometimes trauma, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, or identity issues get in our way.
You may feel empty, broken or even worthless when other people may think you have it all. We help you make the shifts you need to live the life you want and feel able to appreciate it.
Our goal at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is to cultivate change and healing by asking you the hard questions, addressing the areas where you are stuck, and confronting pain with treatment and healing.
We are direct, hands-on and we value humor above candles. Our therapists are not scared of your pain, your fear, your struggles.
We will delve beneath the surface when you are ready.
We value your mental health, your time and your resources too much to talk about the same problems in the same ways that you always have.
Often people come to Beach Cities Psychotherapy when they feel like other therapists have skimmed the surface and they need more.
We want to help you heal and find the clarity you need in your life.
Meet Your Therapists:
Shannon Meena, ACSW
For people struggling with ruminating thoughts or who feel trapped by their anxiety, Shannon Meena is a lifeline. Shannon’s CBT skill set gives her the ability to offer tools to transform anxiety and her empathic approach and ability to connect to clients is her superpower.
Shannon creates a safe space where clients can explore their feelings, learn effective communication skills, and strengthen their self-esteem.
In addition to working with anxiety and life transitions, Shannon is also experienced working with depression and has training TF-CBT to help teens and pre-teens with issues relating to trauma. She works with adults and also has a unique ability to connect with pre-teens and teenagers.
Read her full bio here.
Gabby Nahle, AMFT
For individuals grappling with career transitions, relationship challenges, or self-esteem issues, Gabby Nahle is a beacon of support. Gabby’s expertise in psychodynamic theories, attachment theory, and CBT equips her to provide tailored interventions that open the door to personal growth and healing. Her empathic approach allows her to build meaningful connections with her clients.
Gabby fosters an environment of trust and openness, empowering clients to explore their emotions, develop effective communication skills, and build their self-worth.
Read her full bio here.
Who We Help
Teens and Pre-Teens
Our therapists understand the challenges that teens and pre-teens face today from social, academic and athletic pressures to bullying, anxiety and fears about the future. We help teens move forward with confidence and build lifelong coping skills along the way.
Check out our support group for high school seniors here.
Adults
We offer a collaborative approach to working with individuals and focus on getting to know our client and build a healthy therapeutic relationship so we can understand their struggles and help them find the strategies and tools that resonate most strongly for them.
Families
Our therapists understand the complexities of family systems and will help you identify and untangle relational dynamics that don’t work.
Couples
Our therapists are solution-focused when working with couples. We help clients build healthy intimacy, clarify expectations within their relationship, work through relationship challenges, and improve communication.
Our Specializations
EMDR Intensives & Trauma Retreats
EMDR Intensives are accelerated treatment programs for trauma. Rather than traditional weekly EMDR sessions, EMDR Intensives include one 90 minute session one to two weeks prior to the intensive (via telehealth or in-person) to begin resourcing and create the treatment plan, and one to three 3-hour Intensive EMDR sessions. A 30-minute follow-up session (telehealth or in-person) to go over an after-care plan within two weeks of the Intensive is also included.
Life Transitions
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we offer specialized therapy services for young adults facing significant life transitions such as entering adulthood, graduating from college, starting a career, experiencing relationships and breakups, and other major milestones.
Parenting
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we offer specialized services in therapy for parents, designed to support and empower them in their parenting roles.
Our therapy provides a supportive environment where parents can explore their parenting styles, challenges, and emotional responses. We guide parents in developing effective communication, discipline strategies, and emotional connections with their children, which enhances overall family dynamics.
Anxiety
Anxiety Therapy at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is a compassionate and supportive process designed to help you manage and alleviate your anxiety.
In our sessions, we focus on understanding your experiences, and challenges, aiming to empower you with strategies to regain peace and stability in your life.
Substance Use
When substance use impacts your relationships, your work, or even just your sense of self and well-being, it’s important to take a hard look. Wondering if you have a problem?
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we understand the complexity of substance use and meet our clients wherever they are whether that’s assessing if it’s a problem, creating a moderation management plan, exploring a sober-ish lifestyle, or embracing sobriety or recovery.
Teen & Pre-Teen Struggles
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we provide Therapy for Teens by meeting them where they are. We strive to create a relationship that fosters trust and growth.
The teenage years can be a challenge both for parents and teenagers as teenagers’ brains undergo intense change particularly in the prefrontal cortex which controls their impulsivity and judgement. They are children who need and want their parents; they are also individuating and want absolutely nothing to do with their parents. It’s confusing for them and often confusing for parents as well.
In our sessions, we focus on understanding your personal experiences and triggers, equipping you with strategies to regain control and find balance in your life.
EMDR & Trauma
EMDR is an effective way to treat trauma without re-traumatizing. Whitney Boole is certified in EMDR and uses it with many of her clients, offering both EMDR in weekly therapeutic sessions and EMDR Intensives.
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we are very attuned to the impact of trauma on our clients. Our therapists are all trauma-informed.
Relationships
Relationship Therapy at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is a supportive and constructive process designed to help you enhance your interpersonal relationships.
In our sessions, we delve into your personal experiences and challenges related to interacting with peers, friends, and coworkers, aiming to equip you with strategies to improve communication, understanding, and mutual respect.
Codependency
At Beach Cities Psychotherapy, we offer specialized services in therapy for codependency, designed to help you improve your relationship dynamics.
Our sessions provide a supportive environment where we explore your personal experiences and challenges with codependency.
Depression
Depression Therapy at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is a supportive process aimed at helping you address and mitigate your depression.
In our sessions, we focus on understanding your personal experiences and challenges, aiming to equip you with strategies to restore hope and balance in your life.
Infidelity
Infidelity and Betrayal Trauma Therapy at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is a compassionate process aimed at helping you navigate the profound emotional impact of betrayal.
In our sessions, we focus on understanding your unique experiences and challenges, providing you with strategies to address the deep wounds caused by infidelity.
Trauma
Trauma Therapy at Beach Cities Psychotherapy is a compassionate path towards healing the wounds of your past. Our therapeutic process is dedicated to helping you navigate and alleviate the effects of trauma.
In our sessions, we prioritize your personal journey, aiming to empower you with effective strategies to restore inner peace and resilience.
Divorce
Even when we know divorce is the only path forward, it’s not easy. Having to talk to your kids about divorce is hard. Having to navigate their reactions and their struggles through this painful life transition can feel overwhelming.
Our therapists want to understand your family’s experience of divorce and help you navigate the challenges that you’re struggling with. Our therapists will help you shift the story of your divorce to one of empowerment and hope for you, your former partner, and most importantly, your kids.
We Offer Walk and Talk Therapy
Our location offers us a unique opportunity to bring clients to the beach in Hermosa for sessions by the ocean when clients request it.
Walking during therapy creates an alternating rhythm of our steps on the pavement and stimulates alternating sides of our brain which facilitates processing.
Fresh air and nature are also helpful to healing.
Moving when we feel stuck can also help us to move through life’s obstacles and create a tangible, very real momentum that is both literal and metaphorical.
While our therapists also work with clients in the office, Walk & Talk sessions are beneficial for clients who don’t want to sit on a sofa for an hour. It’s okay to alternate between Walk and Talk sessions and in-office sessions. Our therapists understand that not every day feels like a good day for a walk.
