SoCal Affirmative Psychotherapy is a psychoanalytically-informed LGBTQIA+ affirmative practice that is owned and operated by Brian Stachowiak (he/him), Licensed and Marriage Family Therapist #126154. My approach to working with you in therapy would encompass all registers of your experience, including non-verbal communication, the body, and the mind. In my way of working, developing an understanding of where and how feelings are actually felt is as important as understanding cognitive distortions and negative thought patterns.
Psychotherapy can be used in myriad ways, short or long-term. Often when distressing symptoms have abated, psychotherapy shifts from symptom-oriented work to deep self-reflection and a search for existential meaning. As we live in a culture that demands that we leave our bodies and our interior world behind in order to function in day-to-day living, it takes a concerted and conscious effort to turn an inward lens on our lives to examine our motivations, unresolved family of origin issues and who we hope to become. Our work together begins by establishing rapport, trust and safety so as to help you find your own authenticity, self-agency and healing.
I am a member of and very active supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and believe that queerness is of great value beyond just 'affirming' it as an identity but that queer people are leaders and model the individuation process which will one day revolutionize how people relate to themselves, the collective and one another. I am also an academic and teach multiple courses on clinical practice and human sexuality to nascent psychotherapists. I serve on the Board of Directors and Chair the Committee on Diversities and Socio-cultural Inequities at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in West L.A., I also serve as the Director for the Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy program.
My work at Pacifica
Pacifica Graduate Institute is a school founded in the depth tradition that teaches the psychology of Carl Jung, James Hillman, Marion Woodman and many others. If you have ever utilized the terms, shadow, archetype, introversion, extroversion, the Self or individuation – these are the pillars of Jungian depth psychology. As the cornerstone of mental health is the ability to symbolize, my work at Pacifica relies heavily on identifying archetypal patterns in unconscious content with the goal that once these patterns can be recognized and better understood and grappled with, then they can be more integrated into our daily lives. As a professor of clinical psychology, my approach to teaching is relational and deeply personal in which I aim to connect sophisticated psychological ideas into real life situations in the material that I teach, so that students have more than just a theoretical framework but a practical use of theory.
I teach nascent psychotherapists in-training, courses in; clinical practice, clinical process, human sexuality, and depth psychology from an LGBTQ+ affirmative perspective. I also teach students from a feminist perspective, meaning that I encourage each student to bring their own experiences into the classroom which are just as vital for learning as the material I present, so that that there is a communal consciousness-raising approach to learning that is not mired in a hierarchical power structure and endless lecture. Depth psychology emphasizes myth and meaning and while it also looks at historical patterns in our family of origin and prior relationships, it is also a visionary approach that considers future potential.
Faculty Profile: www.pacifica.edu/faculty/brian-stachowiak/
Website: www.pacifica.edu
My work at New Center for Psychoanalysis
The New Center for Psychoanalysis is a nonprofit membership organization and training center that provides a range of postgraduate programs in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy for licensed mental health professionals. I first engaged with the New Center as a student in a two-year intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy training program. Upon completion of my training program, I was invited to chair the diversities and sociocultural inequities committee for the institute in addition to having a seat on the Board of Directors. In my role as chair of the diversities committee, the committee collectively assists in the periodic review of diversity and inclusion policies evaluating their effectiveness, inclusion of diverse presenters at the institute on contemporary issues within psychoanalysis, as well as monitor and track diversity metrics within the institute and identify areas for improvement.
The committee also serves as an advisory body for senior leadership and facilitates channels for employees, faculty and students to share their experiences, concerns or suggestions to build an increasingly inclusive community. The committee also recommends allocation of resources to support diversity and inclusion initiatives, such as scholarships, grants, or sponsorship of relevant events.
Profile: www.n-c-p.org/cgi/page.cgi/_membership.html/2253-Brian-Stachowiak
Website: www.n-c-p.org/about-the-center.html