Wilshire Valley Therapy Centers

06/28/2025

When therapy ends.... it can be wrenching, satisfying, hopeful, heart felt. Relational therapy is not 'talk therapy', its so much more... see my new posting

Traditionally viewed as the ultimate goal of treatment, termination of psychotherapy remains complex. It often brings bittersweet emotions and perhaps some pain.

07/24/2022

A chance to hear some awesome clinicians and experts in their field of psychology- see the line up for this Falls LACPA Symposium. Dr Katrina Wood is presenting on Trauma with Families what to understand and how to heal and much more.

05/10/2022

https://drkatrinawood.com/2022/05/09/post-pandemic-workplaces/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email

Employers and employees have returned to the workplace, operating in the new normal. "Back to business" the positive motto. Yet there is an elephant in the room.

05/07/2022

Our newest sister company 'We Talk Consulting' created with a vision of enhancing & forging richer respectful communications in the Workplace. With an emphasis on being 'seen', & valued for a better balanced work life existence for all . For more information please reach out - happy to share more of our new project with you.
https://wetalkconsulting.com/

04/23/2022

Cool publication . Dr Wood new piece on relationships is part of this magazine ( Page 48- 51) - some other nice very well written and varied pieces too. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YKZ7BD2

Looking Away & Looking Towards: Forging Relational Connections by Katrina Wood Ph.D.......................Page 48
Origins of Looking Away
Intro-
In The Emperor’s New Clothes, an entire village “looked away” from their ruler, who was parading naked in the street, in order to support the illusion that he was magnificent and refined. The villagers pretended that he wore fine clothes of silk, bolstering his vanity and protecting him from shame to avoid his wrath and their potential punishment (Miller 1952).Conditioning children to “look away” lies at the root of many family systems. It becomes a core mechanism for coping with multiple painful behaviors & dysfunctional ways of relating.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YKZ7BD2

Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. VII, No. 1)

04/05/2022

A child, a man & how unresolved childhood trauma may impact ourselves & those we love.

The trance-like state that bound Will Smith in that moment at the Oscars spoke of decades of complex emotions and unconscious thoughts. All landing in one destructive action.

03/13/2022

The 5 Commitments, in writing . Katrina Wood Ph.D
c 2022
The following is a contract between you and yourself. This pact provides the seeds and tools for maintaining and sustaining love — both of yourself and with the people in your relationships.
1. My feelings of interest, anger, pain, shame, loneliness, frustration, and joy are mine and mine alone. They are extremely valuable. No one makes me feel a certain way, but I certainly am impacted by others and their behaviors. These may incite different feelings in me. I have the right to share these emotions with others in an appropriate way. I have a right to be heard.
It matters when I feel loss. I need to express some of my feelings of anger, sadness, shame, and pain. I will remember to express my deeper feelings with those who care about me.
The depth of my emotions originated in childhood. I suppressed these emotions in the past because my experiences and feelings had not been valued. At least, not in the way that I needed them valued. I will be mindful of not expressing myself in extremes or being abusive when I talk about my feelings — with myself or with others.
2. If I do not value and have compassion for my feelings and my longings — and do not express them — I am in danger of developing a shadow. This is a dark side that is the carrier of deep, important parts of who I am — parts that will now become hidden. I am now in danger of becoming enslaved to my shadow, and I am at risk of controlling and criticizing others for the very feelings and longings that I have denied within myself.
Staying true to my authentic voice, I do not need to hide in a shadow world. I can remain in the light of my authentic creative world. I have no need to impose my thoughts and feelings on others.
3. I am comfortable expressing my truth without controlling anyone else because I now value myself deeply. As long as I am expressing my truth — and have created relationships with those who care about how I feel and my longings — I feel secure and have no need to control or shame others. I have developed love and compassion for myself because this value system has been strengthened.
4. I have a right to receive compassion and empathy after expressing my feelings. I may not always receive these validations, but I have attracted loving people in my life who provide me with the essential empathy that I need.
I do not expect the people in my life to take responsibility for all of my feelings. They cannot always know which of their behaviors triggers my pain, shame, loneliness, anger, fear, or joy. Nonetheless, those close to me care about how I am impacted. They are sensitive to who I am. That is good enough for me.
5. Now that I have deeply embraced my feelings and my longings, I am able to view others with love and compassion. I have reclaimed this love for myself. In this solid territory of truly seeing and valuing myself, I am now willing to negotiate my needs — while valuing the feelings and needs of others.
Now I am able to experience true intimacy in a world of interdependency. Not dependent, not independent, but interdependent.

03/03/2022

Allowing children to express feelings may make the difference between a healthy and a depressed adult. Ask your child at any time how do you feel today? What happened did something make you feel Happy, Sad, Mad, Glad, Scared, lonely , invite a conversation, suggest feelings words for them. Always validate your child's feeling and let them know you understand their feeling /s and then offer some suggestions on how to cope. Praise their ability to share them with you . NEVER tell your child not to feel or that they are over- reacting . You are a central connection to a well adjusted integrated child . They will remember this for years to come .

01/21/2022

The Beatles- The psychologists of rock 'n roll.

Humming along to "Eleanor Rigby," I noticed how insightful the Beatles' music was from a psychological point of view. They were pop psychologists of their times!