Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
About Me
Psychotherapy
I am a licensed psychotherapist (LMFT #132492) in Los Angeles, CA. I see a diverse group of adults, couples, and relationships in my therapy practice. My style is engaged, curious, and warm. I’ve worked extensively with LGBTQIA+ people, therapists and those in training to become mental health practitioners, creatives and performers, emerging adults, people considering the expansion of a relationship by having children or exploring consensual nonmonogamy, to name a few.
Supervision & Consultation
I supervise pre-licensed clinicians in my practice, and offer consultation to clinicians seeking to deepen their understanding of LGBTQ-Affirmative therapy and psychoanalytic concepts and techniques.
Education & Advocacy
Part of my responsibility as a therapist is to work for greater access and quality of care for all. At the New Center for Psychoanalysis in LA, I serve on the committee for Diversities and Socio-cultural Inequities and teach a course on Sexuality and Gender in the Adult Psychotherapy program.
In line with my commitment to ensuring access to quality mental health care, I serve as the Executive Director of Coldwater Counseling Center, a community mental health clinic in Studio City, CA. For over 40 years, the clinic has offered Jungian depth psychotherapy to the community at an affordable cost.
Many people in my practice come to therapy to address anxiety, depression, grief, and relational issues. I support people working through major life changes such as career shifts, relationship transition, coming into new identities, or mourning loss. In moments of great change, we have the opportunity to deepen our understanding of ourselves. Therapy offers us the space to be held while we do the hard work that leads to growth and transformation.
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​Often a person will come to therapy looking for help to make sense of a deeper persistent feeling that they cannot verbalize. In other words, sometimes we are led to seek out help by parts of ourselves we are not yet in touch with. Psychoanalytic therapy is a wonderful tool for bringing some of these deeper feelings up and into a space where we can verbalize, explore, and make meaning of them.
Psychoanalytic work is based on the idea that we are often motivated and influenced by unconscious thoughts, feelings, and wishes, and that these may underlie our present challenges (anxiety, depression, disconnection, etc.) We explore these through close listening, dream analysis, paying attention to the relationship between the therapist and patient, knowing that it may connect to past relational patterns. We work to understand defenses that block emotional awareness, and address issues related to how you see yourself. Sessions take place 1-4 times a week and asks that patients communicate as openly and freely as possible. The frequency of sessions allows for the work to deepen, maintain instensity, and see shifts move from inner life to outer life.
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As part of the LGBTQ community I have seen how intersecting systems of oppression affect individual and community mental health. One’s relationship to power via race, class, gender, and ethnicity is present in all parts of our experience, and the therapeutic space is no exception. I am a white cisgender queer woman, and I bring consciousness of these aspects of my identity into our work together. ​
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If you are interested in learning more or working together in therapy, supervision, or consultation, please reach out. I look forward to connecting with you.
alison@picardtherapy.com || (213) 282-7025
Background and Training
Alison earned her B.A. from McGill University in Montréal, QC, and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, where she specialized in LGBTQ+ Affirmative Therapy. She studied and completed a certificate in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, where she serves on the committee for Diversities and Socio-cultural Inequities and teaches topics of Sexuality and Gender in the Adult Psychotherapy program. She is currently studying at the Psychoanalytic Center of California.
Alison has completed an externship in LGBTQ-centered Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) and regularly attends workshops and conferences to continue developing clinical skills and stay current with advancements in the field. She is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, APA DIV 39 Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.