Find a Therapist in Santa Barbara, California.

I use an integrative approach to therapy which means that we will work together to discover and use the tools that best fit your needs, strengths, and goals. It is most important that you feel safe and comfortable, and we will start with getting to know each other and developing a sense of safety. Then we will explore what feels right to your inner world. I believe each person has a natural impulse toward healing, and often that impulse feels covered over by the stressors of life. We work together to gently peel back the layers and uncover your authentic self. Techniques that we can use are mindfulness, EMDR, and expressive therapies like sand tray, drawing, or writing.

I work with an entire person--the mind, emotions, body, spirit, relationships. I offer an alternative approach to traditional psychotherapy because sometimes we are stuck beyond our thoughts. I believe we are often stuck beyond how we think about something, but by how our body holds and remembers the experiences. After all, we feel the anxiety in our chest, shoulders or stomach. When we are depressed, we struggle to move, sleep, concentrate etc. I work to remove the block from wherever it is stuck. My clients come to me after years of ineffective therapy. They are looking for more than talking about their struggles or identifying how they think about them in favor of a change in living.

My style of therapy is Humanistic and Integrative Psycotherapy which is based on the principle of the therapeutic relationship. Many of us have had experiences in our pasts that have been difficult and can leave us with false beliefs about ourselves and our worth. We very often are not even aware of the source of our difficulties, but they can impinge on our lives and relationships. Through the therapeutic relationship problems can be explored in a safe, non-judgemental and confidential setting. The therapeutic relationship can provide us with a "corrective emotional experience" where by feeling truly heard, understood and accepted, we gain a new awareness of ourselves and of relationship.

My clients often find me easy to talk to and say they feel comfortable with me, trusting quickly. This can make the psychotherapeutic process easier and more effective for my clients, especially if they are nervous or don’t know what to expect. Therapy with me can range from just talking casually with each other, leading to insights, increased self awareness, and processing through emotional issues, or it could be more intensive deeper therapy like EMDR.

My approach is to work collaboratively with clients using a holistic model of therapy which entails a blending of Eastern and Western modalities. For example, training in meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, proper exercise, a nutritious, science-based diet and maintaining proper sleep hygiene. Also, including talk therapy can then help to reveal core values and issues. Mindfulness training benefits clients in observing clearly thoughts and behaviours. Clients benefit greatly through the use of evidence based interventions by developing the skills needed to evaluate thought patterns and overcome destructive patterns.

I'm a seasoned licensed individual therapist with a focus on how relationships shape our personalities and overall mental health. I use a comprehensive blend of therapeutic approaches including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, and Object-Relations Psychotherapy. Tailoring to the unique needs of individuals seeking personal growth, I empower clients to explore underlying patterns and emotional complexities. With an empathetic and goal-oriented perspective, clients find a path towards self-awareness, emotional balance, and confidence. My deep commitment to individual well-being positions me as an ideal guide for those seeking to transform and enhance their lives in therapy.

Therapy is not a one size fits all experience. Though I extensively trained to understand specific theories of practice, I utilize a "prescriptive" approach. This means I will adapt to your needs in treatment. Therapy is co-created, it is relational, and it is in the therapeutic relationship where we seek personal growth to apply outside the therapy room. I work with adult individual clients who are grieving a significant loss, LGBTIQ+ adults, adults with creative blocks, neurodivergent adults, people pleasers, those recovering from trauma, and adults burnt out about their work.

My approach to psychotherapy will help you gain a greater understanding of who you are underneath the dictates and even the more subtle influences of your family of origin, as well as of the greater culture. I use a number of different tools such as exploring your dreams, journal writing, art work and/or EMDR to discover your psyche's true calling. Living in integrity with one's dreams and contributing from a place of authenticity can feel highly rewarding.

James Hillman once said, "We've had a hundred years of psychotherapy and the world is getting worse." While there are many occasions where the validation and listening endemic to psychotherapy makes sense, there are times where we over assume that "feeling better" and "changing behavior" are the same. Grey Matters International, Inc. goes after the forgotten brain laws to behavior change that therapists miss when processing hours and hours of dialogues with people. Utilizing a cutting edge technology to facilitate the emotional process of change, we can make the therapy process way more effective, faster, and with less money spent. Contact kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.