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Your path to healing starts now

Denise Lee, LMFT & LPCC

Trauma Therapist in Orange County, CA

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You’re here because you…

  • Are sick of repeating the same patterns

  • Feel stuck and don’t know how to make lasting change

  • Read the self-help books and listen to the podcasts but you still find yourself feeling triggered, anxious and unsure how to communicate your needs in healthy ways. 

  • Feel ashamed of how your past trauma, anxiety and self-esteem issues affect your relationships

Together we can help make sense of your past and learn new skills so you can have more connected, fulfilling relationships with yourself and your loved ones

Maybe this is your first time in therapy and you are both excited and absolutely terrified and so you are looking for a therapist who is warm, compassionate, explains the process and puts you at ease.

Or maybe you have had experience in therapy but you are looking for a different approach such as EMDR, Somatic, IFS, or DBT rather than traditional talk therapy.

You might be wanting to dive deeper into the past to make sense of it while also gaining the skills to manage intense emotions and communicate your needs and feelings so your relationships are more satisfying.

My approach acknowledges that in order to do deep, meaningful work you MUST feel safe and connected to your therapist. How else would we be able to foster deeper connections with your loved ones without experiencing that in therapy?

Working with me includes us focusing on the outcome you want. I have been trained in many types of therapy which allows me to flexibly approach your concerns and tailor treatment to your unique needs. Additionally, I offer both in-person and video sessions so that you can find the setting that is best suited for you.

How I work…

I work from a trauma-informed perspective which simply means I will be mindful of your past experiences potentially coloring how you feel today and support you in uncovering deeper root causes.

Those who come from happy childhoods can also be impacted by things from their past which shows up in their current relationships in the form of difficulty verbalizing needs in a healthy way, angry outbursts, or shutting down when emotions get high. Sometimes anxiety and low self-esteem masquerade behind some difficult memories.

Sometimes, distress can show up in the body such as feeling your stomach turning over, restlessness in your limbs and tightness in your chest. Unlike traditional therapy, I would focus also on what shows up in your body as we want you to experience both a calmer mind AND body.

All behavior makes sense in some way and part of our journey together will be to unpack this so you can feel more connected to yourself and your loved ones.

You’re probably a motivated, self-aware person who loves self-help books and podcasts but you are looking for an experienced guide who can understand your unique needs. You’ve talked to your friends but you often feel they either relate things back to them or may have a bias when giving you suggestions. Or you might be afraid to share what’s going on because you don’t want to be perceived as complaining.

Therapy is unique in that the focus is on you. Yes, a relationship of safety and trust is built in therapy but the focus remains on you with the shared goal of helping you create and live the life you desire.

One of my highest priorities is to help my clients have more compassion for themselves. The greatest relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. This means that it is important for us to be mindful of how we talk to ourselves and therefore I will challenge you to be your own advocate and possibly even your own good-enough parent. When therapy ends, I want to make sure you are your own best friend.

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With me, you will get a compassionate space where you can share what is on your mind without needing to worry about being judged or that someone will be upset with you. I have struggled with past experiences that shaped how I showed up in relationships and therefore I pursued my own therapy and did trauma work through EMDR. This personal experience allows me to empathize with how scary it can seem at first and how liberating it can feel when past traumas are resolved.

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Clients have told me that I am easy to talk to, warm, and that they often feel better when leaving the session.

I regularly hear things like…

“I thought about you and heard your voice tell me it is okay to feel my feelings”

“I feel so much better after talking with you”

“You are the only person I feel I can be really honest and open with”

My hope is that all my clients will gain more clarity, peace and self-compassion in this process.

Specialities

Trauma

Anxiety

Self-Esteem & Depression

Therapy for Therapists

Credentials

  • ● Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in CA, #50911

    ● Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in CA, #609

    ● Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Out-of-State Telehealth in FL, #TPMF1024

    ● Master’s of Science in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton 2003

    • Internal Family Systems Institute- Level 1 Training in IFS

    • IFS Informed EMDR- Trained through Syzygy Institute

    • Certified EMDR Therapist through EMDRIA.org since January 2021

    • Certified in DBT by the DBTNCAA since June 2017

    • Have completed the following EMDR trainings: Basic I & 2, DeTUR, RTEP, Somatic Approaches and EMDR Therapy, EMDR 2.0, Parts/Ego State Work in EMDR Therapy

    • Trained in Ego State Therapy by Robin Shapiro and IFS Masterclass through PESI with Richard Schwartz

    • Polyvagal Theory

  • ● Member of EMDRIA (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association )

    ● Member of CAMFT (California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists)