Judith McIntosh (She/her)

My Approach to Helping

My role as a therapist is to foster psychological health by assisting my clients to identify and utilize their existing strengths. My approach is collaborative and supportive. Symptoms of depression - sadness, loneliness, meaninglessness, hopelessness - can be excruciating. However, each symptom holds the potential for greater self-awareness, the key to moving beyond it. By sharing your story with me, I can help you dig down to the root of the issue and uncover its hidden value. My therapeutic approach combines the practicality of cognitive behavioral therapies with the creativity of depth psychology and mythology by tapping into the realm of the imagination and utilizing a variety of tools that may include storytelling, art, writing, literature, film, and dreams.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

In addition to my private practice, I have had the good fortune to work in a variety of mental health settings including a community counseling clinic, an employee assistance program, a non-profit support community for cancer patients and caregivers, county mental health services and a crisis line. I have taught counseling and communication skills courses at California State University Northridge, as well as provide clinical supervision to MFT graduate students. Although I value all of these experiences, I am thrilled that at this point in my life I have to freedom to focus exclusively on my private practice. While my previous experience has provided me with a solid clinical foundation, my passion lies in helping clients tap into the unconscious realm through humanities-based expressive arts. I love how working this way brings an element of creativity and fun to the therapeutic process with less focus on diagnosis and more attention to each person's inherent movement toward health.