Newton Family Therapy
and Consulting, Inc
Natalie (Nat) Newton, LMFT, PhD, they/she
Licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and Anthropologist (PhD)
Welcome to my webpage. I’m glad you found your way here.
I’m a psychotherapist for creative adults and people of color who are in LGBTQ+, gender diverse, and kink/poly/BDSM communities.
About my clients
“Our hands were empty except for our hands.”
(Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous)
I work well with people of color, LGBTQs, and genderqueer people struggling with burn out and navigating career challenges. I approach therapy as a form of “ethical listening” (Orange, 2011) to feelings, dreams, thoughts, and anxieties. Here is a safe landing pad to slow things down to hear out how you feel in moments of distress with others. I help clients out of chronic anxiety through boundary skills and grieving unresolved losses in order to set you free.
Drawing from my previous career as an anthropologist (PhD) and an activist, I sit humbly with clients as they navigate culture and systems of oppression. Let’s work together to understand your emotions, the past, how you can speak up, how you might impact others without knowing, and how you might undo unconscious patterns, so you can reach your goals.
With utmost quality of care, I welcome you to utilize my resources to create the life you desire.
Areas that I have helped people
- Systemic oppression (race, sexuality, gender, poverty, and religion, and others)
- Depression
- Grief
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- Self-advocacy and self-esteem
- Relationship challenges
- Insomnia
- Gender-affirming care and HRT/surgery letters
- Addictive behaviors
My formats
- Online
- California-based residents
- 1 to 2 sessions per week, psychoanalytically-informed
- Gottman Couple Therapy
- CBT for Insomnia
- Out-of-network
- Aetna Insurance
How I work
As a Vietnamese American and queer counselor and trained anthropologist, I see the therapeutic process as a deeply cultural process, where things may “come without saying as they go without saying,” which may cause both tremendous suffering and unexpected healing in our relationship. I offer practical skills that may shift your day-to-day.
STARTING THERAPY WITH ME:
If you think we might be a good fit after reading this website, feel free to reach out via email, phone, or this website contact page. I begin with a 20-30 minute consultation call free of charge to see if we are a good fit for what you are seeking in therapy right now. We discuss consent and my office policies, such as cancellations, insurance, etc.
WORKING TOGETHER:
I work with clients to format therapy in two models, depending on what we are addressing: The Illness Model and the Wellness Model. The Illness Model follows a pathway in which symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, and dissociation) are treated until they are gone, which leads to the termination of therapy. The Wellness Model of therapy follows a pathway in which preventative work is done to improve relationships, examine unconscious patterns that perpetuate issues, explore existential values that make you an individual, or addresses “symptoms” that seem to resist simple coping methods. Together we sort which format works best at what point in our work together, toward an end point that reaches your goals.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Together, clients and I explore how past relationships and childhood impact their present-day anxieties, depression, and relationship patterns. I respect ways that culture, family, and systems influence our unconscious patterns. I completed four years of psychoanalytic training at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles and Newport Psychoanalytic Institute.
Gottman Couple Therapy
I was trained in Gottman Couple Therapy at Level 3. This modality is semi-structured based upon over 50 years of research with couples in diverse communities. I work with couples to help them through managing conflict, developing more shared fondness and admiration, and creating shared meaning together.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
I am certified in the gold standard for first-line treatment of insomnia (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia or CBT-I) through the founder of CBT-I, Gregg Jacobs, PhD.
Nat Newton, LMFT, PhD
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT 147220)
PhD Anthropology
“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh
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