Counselors and Therapists specializing in gifted, high ability, creative people
Plus additional resources
SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) list of mental health providers with experience working with gifted, talented, and/or twice-exceptional individuals.
HSP Practitioners Directory
Created by Julie Bjelland, Psychotherapist and Founder of Sensitive Empowerment — “I want to connect highly sensitive people (HSPs) to HSP practitioners because I believe it’s important for your practitioner to understand the trait of high sensitivity to support you in the best way possible (and avoid misdiagnosis).
“I cannot guarantee these practitioners are right for you, so I encourage you to contact them and do your own research as well to find the right fit for you. Practitioners on this list have said they also offer phone or video services globally.”
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Counselors – Therapists
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Cheryl Arutt, Psy.D. –
My approach to therapy emphasizes insight, self-awareness and empowerment to help people live better and have more gratifying lives.
Through an alliance of trust and collaboration, we work together to understand the meanings of symptoms, to get “un-stuck,” and to rediscover your capacity to make the meaningful choices that are right for you.
Growth occurs in an atmosphere of respect, compassion and a belief in the human capacity for healing, change and reparation.
I enjoy working with creative, high ability and highly sensitive individuals.
One area of focus is working with creative artists and entertainment industry professionals to increase confidence and access to creative expression, while identifying and modifying any self-destructive patterns inhibiting professional achievement.”
I spent years studying the effects of traumatic events on people’s lives, working extensively with victims of both recent and past crime and abuse.
I now offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a powerful evidence-based brief therapy that effectively decreases or eliminates the symptoms of post-traumatic stress for the majority of those treated.”
Cheryl Arutt Psy.D. www.drcherylarutt.com [Beverly Hills, CA]
TEDx video – Cheryl Arutt on That Good Feeling of Control – in my article: Creating is a way to channel our emotional intensity.
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Lynne Azpeitia, MA Gifted, Talented & Creative Adults
“People are capable of being expressive, but often they are interfered with or misinterpreted in these areas.
“So my job is to help them identify when they are in that fluid and creative state, and help them look at how they got there, and on purpose how to make those things happen. That’s the best part of what I do.”
She is a licensed therapist in Santa Monica, California, and may be reached at 310.828.7121 or 626.797.1052
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Sharon Barnes, MSSW, LCSW “helps CASIGYs (Creative, Curious, Complex, Acutely Aware, Super-sensitive, Intense, Gifted You!) turn obstacles into stepping stones.
Sharon “can help you make the most of your sensitivity, creativity and intelligence.
“She can help you heal and thrive, not just survive as a CASIGY. She offers individual, couple and group counseling and psychotherapy as well as PlayShops, Presentations and Seminars.
She works in person, by webcam and phone. Call Sharon today for a New Tomorrow!” 303-987-0346. [Lakewood, CO]
Social-Emotional ACES Home Video Program – “a video-based training program for Creative, Highly Sensitive or Gifted adults, and for parents and teachers of Highly Creative, Highly Sensitive, and/or Gifted children and teens.”
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Hilary Beech, PhD MBA MSEE
I’m a licensed psychologist in private practice in San Francisco, serving gifted, professional, and creative adults.
I help clients appreciate their giftedness, develop resiliency in challenging situations, create satisfying relationships, and attain professional fulfillment.
I have particular expertise in internet addiction, creativity blocks, navigating transitions, and gender and sexuality.
My goal is that therapy offers a safe, nonjudgmental, and compassionate setting. Working collaboratively, we’ll uncover what’s holding you back from the life you aspire to.
This insight allows for new ways of relating to self and others and new options for unsatisfactory situations.
I “get” my gifted and professional clients because I’ve walked in their shoes. Before becoming a psychologist, I worked in senior roles with gifted people in engineering, high-tech marketing, economic policy research, and academic administration.
I’m also a musician, and have published research in creativity as it relates to personal transformation.
San Francisco Financial District
415/688-4608
hb@drhilarybeech.com
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Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D.****website***articles****office phone: (323) 651-1118
“A licensed clinical and forensic psychologist in Los Angeles, CA, who sees many talented individuals, including members of the Screen Actors Guild.” A former pupil and protege of Dr. Rollo May, he has taught at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, J.F.K. University, the C.G. Jung Institute–Zurich and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology.
He was a contributing author to the best-selling anthology Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature, and is the author of book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity.”
*Read interview with Dr. Diamond: The Psychology of Creativity
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Lisa Erickson, MS, LMHC Seattle, Washington [List of her articles]
My clinical interests include the relationship between giftedness, addiction and trauma. For the gifted, I help them awaken to their giftedness and associated character traits, and integrate this awareness with their work, creativity, and relationships with self and others.
I have extensive experience working with addictions, and have helped many people learn to manage their intensity and their sense of differentness without using substances or addictive processes.
I have been a psychotherapist for over 30 years. For 25 years I was an adjunct professor in a graduate psychology program teaching courses such as professional ethics and substance abuse and addictions.
I also train other clinicians via continuing education classes on a variety of subjects including learning about the clinical presentation and treatment implications of giftedness. My training schedule is posted on my website with links to the sponsoring organizations.
I can be reached at 206-352-0363 or via my website at http://www.lisaerickson.net
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Joanna Haase Ph.D., MFT – “For over 20 years, I have been successfully working with clients to overcome eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and more recently, assisting parents and clients with the unique challenges of giftedness.”
572 East Green St., Suite 208 Pasadena, CA 91101
626.799.7907 drjhaase@mac.com http://drjoannahaase.com
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Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT – founder of Creative Minds Psychotherapy™, Beverly Hills, CA.
https://creativemindspsychotherapy.com
“Psychotherapy for Artists, People in Film/TV, Performing and Fine Arts. She is passionate about working with bright, motivated, and insightful creative people.
“If you’re a professional in the arts, creative blocks or performance anxiety can derail your career and diminish your sense of self.
“Psychotherapy offers a powerful, intimate, transformative journey that will help you face and transform emotional blocks.
“Whether you’re a creative professional or an individual who wishes to get back in touch with who you really are, therapy can help you tap into your inner resources, talents, and gifts.”
[The photo collage at the top uses images on her site.]
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Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, PsyD. – Talent Psychology Consulting Ltd. [A joint effort with Karen Ward, MSc., O.D. in the United Kingdom.]
“Talent psychology is the study and application of psychology to organizational development and the workplace. Services: consultation, coaching, presentations, master classes, training, and workshops. Has been conducting distance consultations for more than 12 years.”
book: The Gifted Adult
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Edith D Johnston PhD LPC – The question is “How To” not whether we can or can’t. Edith has worked with individuals and groups to discover a personal understanding and create the ‘how to’ for their personal development. She provides tools, supports, insights in understanding, overcoming, developing, expressing, and connecting for multi-talents.
Her tool box includes energetics, visual, and creative methodologies to discover your personal story and develop a change in the story line. She has extensive work in pain management (physical and emotional), disability adjustment, career development, and life event transitions. She offers individual counseling, workshops, and teleclasses.
Contact Edith at www.howtoinlife.com email: edith@howtoinlife.com
PO Box 301 Delta, CO 81416 970-216-5753
Article: Beyond the Chaos or Void in my Life?
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Andrew Mahoney – Counselor and family therapist – “It really all comes back to their identity as gifted people,” he says. “It comes back to their being able to see themselves as gifted within the systems that tell them who they are — their family, their schools, their community. Their giftedness is a variable in their identity, and for a counselor to ignore that is to ignore a key part in the puzzle they’re trying to piece together.”
Counseling the Gifted [Chicago, Illinois area] Online Video/Phone Consultation also available.
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Eric Maisel, PhD is the author of more than 40 books. “His interests include creativity and the creative life, the field of creativity coaching which he founded, and natural psychology, the new psychology of meaning that he has recently been developing.” He gives workshops and is available for Individual Creativity Coaching.
His books include:
Natural Psychology: The New Psychology of Meaning
Rethinking Depression
Mastering Creative Anxiety
See titles by Eric Maisel in one of the lists in my collection at Books for creative people.
Another book of his: Why Smart People Hurt.
> Read excerpts in these articles:
Challenged By Being So Smart, and Brainpower and The Smart Gap.
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Grace Malonai, Ph.D., LPCC, DCC
I am a clinical counselor, consultant and director at TheraThrive, where we focus on supporting gifted, highly sensitive, intense and creative people.
I understand the quirky natures, the immense talent, and the many challenges associated with giftedness.
As an integrative therapist, my approach is strengths-based and humanistic. I believe counseling is a collaborative process, where my job is to facilitate my clients’ growth.
This means that while my clients get relief from the pain of their challenges, they also come to know themselves better. In other words, they learn to understand and work with their emotions, and they gain skills to manage their emotional reactions.
They also attain deeper self-awareness and insight about their relationships, families, social connections, creative processes, and work or school challenges.
Dr. Grace’s Websites: http://www.therathrive.com and http://www.giftedidentity.com
Dr. Grace’s Faculty Page: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/node/144006?back=node/6654
Articles by Dr. Grace: http://www.therathrive.com/resources/articles-and-presentations/
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Dennis Palumbo, M.A., MFT*****website
“Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter… now a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles. Dr. Palumbo specializes in helping new and established screenwriters, directors, and novelists address creative issues, as well as those involving mid-life and career transition.” [from website]
Author of book: Writing from the Inside Out
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Paula Prober “is a psychotherapist in private practice in Eugene, Oregon. She specializes in counseling gifted adults and youth and consulting with parents of gifted children.
“Before becoming a therapist, she was a teacher in the public schools and worked with gifted children in grades 1-8. She’s been an adjunct instructor with University of Oregon and a guest presenter at Oregon State University and Pacific University.
“She’s written articles on giftedness for the Eugene Register-Guard, the Psychotherapy Networker, and Advanced Development Journal.”
Website http://rainforestmind.wordpress.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/paula.prober
One of her books: Journey Into Your Rainforest Mind: A Field Guide for Gifted Adults and Teens, Book Lovers, Overthinkers, Geeks, Sensitives, Brainiacs, Intuitives, Procrastinators, and Perfectionists.
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Nicole Quaid, MFT – “I work with individual adults, couples, teens and families. In addition to the common issues such as: Depression, Anxiety, Significant losses, Relationship issues, Low self esteem, Career transitions, Managing high sensitivity, Social anxiety, Seeking self improvement, I work with artists and creative individuals seeking support in: Moving through creative blocks, Reducing procrastination, Managing heightened sensitivities…”
584 ½ North Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004
323.692.9589 nicole@nicolequaidtherapy.com www.nicolequaidtherapy.com
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Tara Rech, Ph.D. – “In addition to psychotherapy, I help people in the creative professions on a consultation basis to overcome creative blocks and define and refine their creative processes. I also help people in other professions to learn to think and work outside of the box. … I have been teaching on creativity and mental health topics in the Bay Area since 1999, after I completed my dissertation on the topic of how meaningful experiences are facilitated through art.”
5835 College Avenue, Suite C Oakland, California 94618
(510) 986-9295 minddoc123@gmail.com http://drtararech.com
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Annette Revel Sheely – Associated with the Gifted Development Center – which can also provide referrals to therapists.
“My areas of interest are: the emotional and psychological needs of gifted children, adolescents, and adults; the special issues of gifted girls; the highly gifted; and assessment of the gifted. My current research includes a study of scores of the WISC-III and the Stanford-Binet, Form L-M, to identify the highly gifted.”
School counselor at Rocky Mountain School for the Gifted and Creative [Also see interview]
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Sarah Swenson, MA, LMHCA
Psychotherapy, Intellectual Giftedness
1818 Westlake Avenue North, Suite 312
Seattle WA 98109
206.948.4221
Sarah@swensoncounseling.com
Description of Psychotherapy Practice
Do words like creative, curious, intense, and sensitive resonate strongly with you? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by many interests and abilities? Do you ever feel out of step with others, or lonely in a group? Do existential questions concern you deeply? I help individuals come to terms with their talents, intelligence, and abilities, and learn to change any negative patterns of thought or behavior, so that they can move forward in their lives with confidence and clarity.
You don’t have to struggle through challenges alone. You can make any situation easier to understand and manage with support and guidance.
I see clients in my office in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle. I also have an office in the Lake City neighborhood of North Seattle. Once counseling relationships are established in person, we can also conduct our sessions on the telephone or via Skype.
[Also see article: Intellectual Giftedness at War with Itself: All I Want Is a Good Night’s Sleep… By Sarah Swenson.]
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Shulamit Widawsky – Educational Therapist working with the gifted in Northern Virginia. “My clients come to me because they feel frustrated or uncomfortable in some aspects of their lives, and they need to work things out with someone who understands the special emotional needs of the gifted.” website
Other resources for gifted and creative people
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page :
Psychologists familiar with Testing the Gifted and Exceptionally Gifted
Deborah Ruf, Ph.D., the founder of TalentIgniter, “is an international authority in gifted assessment, test interpretation, and guidance for the gifted. Having been a parent, teacher and administrator in elementary through graduate education, she writes and speaks about school issues and social and emotional adjustment of gifted children, is co-author of the book Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child and author of Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind.
She has developed the Ruf Estimates of Levels of Gifted Online Assessment.
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Also see more coaches and resources:
Therapists and Coaches for Highly Sensitive People
Facebook has a number of groups that include discussions and resources – such as: Gifted and Talented Advocacy.
> Note: this listing includes items added over the course of many years, so some individual therapist info may be out of date. This is for information only and does not imply referrals by me, site author Douglas Eby.
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