Brittney Green, LMFT #140591

Life is messy, being human is hard, and vulnerability is scary. It can feel impossible to avoid struggling and we often don't feel we have the skills to cope successfully through. I believe we all do the best we can with the resources we have. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't have all the resources we need for a given situation. Parts of us take on desperate roles trying to help us to survive.

This might look like depression, anxiety, PTSD, amongst so many other things. I believe these parts of us that are so often demonized are simply making their best attempt to survive in a world full of trauma and suffering. My goal as your therapist is to hold a compassionate space and walk alongside you as a guide in your healing journey.

My name is Brittney Green, and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #140591) in the state of California. I earned my Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, San Diego. I also hold a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Kentucky. Growing up in a rural community without many resources or opportunities, I became passionate about helping others to realize their potential and to achieve their goals. I have a particular interest in how our life experiences shape our perceptions and behaviors, and how we can use our own power of compassion and learning to heal from within.

Evidence-Based Practice

Internal Family Systems (IFS): I use a framework called Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help my clients to identify their internal parts and help these parts to discover healthier skills for coping. IFS emphasizes the belief that all of us are made up of multiple parts, all of whom are only trying to meet our needs. Often, parts are frozen in the time of the traumatic event/s of our lives that forced this part to take on a desperate role. Because these parts are typically our inner children, they did not have the resources that we may have today. When safety and security are established, these parts can be liberated to join us in the present and to take on their preferred roles

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT): Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a modality which centers around learning new skills. These skills include mindfulness, interpersonal skills, emotional regulation techniques, and methods for distress tolerance. DBT is an expansion of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which proposes the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all inter-connected. DBT balances empathy and directness to help us to gently identify our cycles and to learn evidence-based skills to help us to tackle our identified problems. I use DBT in my practice to help my clients to learn about healthier skills, as sometimes looking for an alternative solution leaves us feeling lost or overwhelmed. As DBT is quite a structured therapy, its tangible and practical nature can help us and our parts feel more supported.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR therapy focuses on reprocessing traumatic memories with the goal of decreasing distress and reframing negative beliefs about ourselves stemming from such memories. EMDR can help to alleviate intrusive memories such as flashbacks or nightmares, hypervigilance, and other symptoms of PTSD. Additionally, these traumatic memories are commonly where we gain negative beliefs about ourselves, and through reprocessing such memories and gaining new perspectives, we can adapt these into secure positive beliefs about ourselves. This therapy involves recalling the traumatic memory during bilateral stimulation, which activates the part of our brains that is responsible for memory-processing.

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): EFT is a style of couples therapy based in attachment theory, which is a theory which discusses different styles of bonds we have in our relationships. Using, EFT I help my couples to identify their cycles and to help the couple members to communicate effectively and take on new roles that serve to have a relationship with fuller trust and a secure attachment.

Healing from Within

As a therapist, I believe in working alongside my clients through their healing journeys. For me, this means holding a compassionate space that creates security and invokes curiosity for you to explore different aspects of yourself and realize your potential and explore creative solutions in your life. While life can often feel hopeless, and we may feel helpless, healing is very much possible. I understand that parts of you may feel terrified or overwhelmed to be vulnerable or to let go of old ways; however, I also know that while the work is hard, it is so rewarding to live as your most authentic self. Sharing your authentic self with not only your loved ones and communities but also yourself is the greatest gift you can offer.

 While it is important to heal from within as individuals, I also believe in healing alongside loved ones through couples and/or family therapy. As we all have multiple parts inside of us, different parts inside a couple or family members can create tension in relationships. My goal is to help members of couples and families to become aware of such parts, and to help these systems to explore ways to soothe their inner parts and ways to communicate safely and securely with one another. I also believe in the importance of effectively communicating emotionally in relationships. This often includes becoming more in touch with our somatic -or bodily- experiences, which is where emotions live. These emotions are often messages coming from those parts of us that are coming up. If we can hold space for the different parts of ourselves and of our loved ones’, we can begin to soften and feel more open to connecting with our couple or family members.

I provide individual therapy sessions for 50 minutes/$170. I also provide couples and family therapy sessions for 50min/$200. I applaud you for beginning your healing journey and thank you for reading my page. Whether you choose to work with me or another clinician, I wish you the very best in your healing.

 I welcome your curiosity, so please do not hesitate to contact me for a free 20-minute consultation