Sean Kelley

A Message to You
Reading this means you have already taken the first step toward your well-being and self-care. Making an investment in yourself will always be a beneficial experience. Counseling is an investment in yourself in a safe and productive way. Talking to others allows each of us to know that we are not alone to face our challenges, and gives us a useful perspective. I firmly believe that no matter who you are or what you are carrying, therapy is a resource to improve our lives only for the better.

About Me
My goal is to create a space that is comfortable, judgment-free, and a productive experience for my clients.  I work with clients to make therapy transformative all in the hopes of aiding clients in a journey they are comfortable with and proud of their efforts. It matters not what the client brings in – yet what they take out with them. I view the therapist/client relationship as a collaborative partnership built on mutual respect. Just like any relationship it takes time to build trust and rapport with one another, and the therapeutic relationship is no different.  Understanding how others have impacted a client’s life allows for the therapist to be able to understand the client holistically.

My education and experiences have taught me a lot about working with mental health issues, and I’ve learned about effective techniques, modalities and humility to approach situations.  

The most important lesson I’ve learned, however, is to truly incorporate self-care into our daily lives. Self-care is different to all of us, but the importance is self-investment. 

This has been something I’ve truly become interested in working with any client because it translates directly into a client’s overall well-being.

My goal is to make sure that clients feel safe and I understand the triggers and strengths of each individual. I like to start therapy making sure that before the hard work starts, the we are able to communicate effectively with one another and I am always open for feedback. It is my firm belief that having open communication is vital to the therapeutic process.

I welcome all clients, and all issues – as they are each unique in their own way. I work with individuals of all ages, relationships, and families. My special interests are working with mixed families, sexual abuse survivors, military and at-risk youth. My current niche is working through grief, depression/anxiety and building self-worth and self-confidence.

My Philosophy
I believe that sometimes people can feel uncomfortable to start therapy and talk about their challenges with someone new. That is why it is crucial to find a therapist that you feel at ease with, so you can trust them to listen, support, and guide. Therapy allows us to tackle any problem that you are facing with a new perspective. This allows us to gradually deflate these issues into manageable parts. Once something is manageable, we understand we are capable of handling it. And when we can handle something we then can become proactive, and thrive.

I have been lucky to have diverse experiences in my personal life, and extremely fortunate to meet and grow with others who have had incredibly different experiences from myself.  In understanding those individual’s backgrounds, challenges, and successes, I’ve been able to understand different ways to relate to others.

I believe each person will always be another individual that I will learn from. They have a background that is unlike any other – their challenges are unique to them, but their success will also be owned uniquely by them. Individuals innately have the capability to enact the changes they would like. And my role is to support them with providing perspective and encouragement, in order to understand how to go about that enactment. Every person has the ability to rise to their challenges. At first it might not seem so because of whatever internal and/or external barriers they have encountered – and I firmly believe each client is the hero of their own story and they will overcome them. 

Therapeutic Approach
My style of therapy is Humanistic and Positive Psychology. For teens and adults, I focus on a Cognitive-Behavioral modality (CBT) and utilize primarily motivational interviewing techniques. I also draw from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) for clients dealing with conflicting thoughts and beliefs. For children, I work with play therapy techniques (which include games that utilize talk and story/narrative therapy) as well as creative mediums to help children visualize their thoughts, feelings and emotions.

As a therapist, I will always be the student, learning not just about one’s life but also about new theories, techniques, and modalities to utilize in our work. So, if there is ever something that a client wants to try, I believe it’s important to learn and give it our best shot.

My Experience

• Over a thousand hours of experience in working in this field.

• I have worked in therapeutic environments that include Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), counseling for military and their families, and working with schools with diverse communities.

• I’ve worked with clients from ages 5-75 year and clients dealing with depression/anxiety, sexual abuse survivors, culturally immersed/diverse, at-risk youth, LGBTQ+, those in grief, clients in transition, and suicidal.

• I’ve worked with many individual clients, as well as with groups as well. 

• Have been trained in trauma informed care which emphasizes a client’s safety, trauma history and how to incorporate a client’s resilience and strengths into their therapeutic journey.

My Education and Training

• BA in Psychology
• MA in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy.

 California Marriage and Family Therapist Registered Associate # 135813
Supervised by Aimee Clark, Licensed MFT #43736