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5525 Oakdale Ave., Suite 170
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
How Self-Talk Builds Confidence
What if one of the most powerful tools for building confidence is something you already have with you every day?
Caregivers, You Need Care, Too
If you’re an unpaid caregiver, you’re not alone. The CDC reports that in California, almost one in five people ages 45 and ...
5 Tips for Managing a New Driver
When someone in your household gets a driver’s license, pretty much everyone involved will feel a mix of excitement and concern. For ...
What is Attachment Parenting?
If you’re a new parent, you’re probably getting a lot of information about how to raise a happy, healthy child. Maybe you’re ...
Honor National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month With Us
It’s July. That doesn’t just mean it’s time for fireworks and backyard barbecues. It also means it’s National Minority Mental Health Awareness ...
Youth Suicides Have Declined Thanks to 988
In July four years ago, a nationwide rollout launched 988. With that three-digit number in place, people have another emergency line to ...
Resource Spotlight: Mental Health Resources in the Valley
In 2026, a lot of people take mental health just as seriously as physical health. That’s great news. It means a major ...
5 Common Myths About OCD (And What OCD Actually Looks Like)
Films, media, and even casual conversations have contributed to widespread misunderstandings about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), often resulting in stigma and delayed treatment.
The Power of Sighing for Self-Regulation
You might do it unconsciously. You ease into a hot bath after a long day. You get an annoying email. There are ...
What Does a Panic Attack Feel Like?
Some people tend to use “panic attack” casually. They might say they felt like they were having a panic attack before they ...
Perinatal Loss: The Silent Struggle
Pregnancy is supposed to be a joyful time that helps you prepare to bring a new life into the world. When the ...
Is My Child Neurodivergent?
As a parent, you want to protect and nurture your child. That often translates to a desire to make life as easy ...
Building Strong Relationships With Your Young Adult Children
Your child has reached adulthood. Congratulations! That’s a major milestone. And it opens up a whole new world of opportunity. Now that ...
The Link Between Your Gut and Your Brain
When we talk about lifestyle interventions for mental health challenges, a healthy diet almost always comes up. What you put into your ...
New Parents, Do You Need Some Extra Support?
In theory, welcoming your long-awaited little one marks one of the most special seasons of your life. In reality, a lot of ...
5 Tips for Managing Screen Time Struggles With Children and Teens
Too much screen time in kids and teens correlates with an uptick in anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and aggressive behaviors. Per one study, ...
ADHD in Adulthood: What Does It Look Like?
In recent years, quite a bit of work has happened to help kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A lot of young people ...
Wishing You the Best This Holiday Season (Plus Some Self-Care Suggestions)
Here at the West Valley Counseling Center, we’re winding down our year. As we leave our offices and head out to enjoy ...
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Suicidal Ideation in Kids and Teens: Understanding the Link
Life can be more difficult for people living on the autism spectrum. Understanding social cues can be challenging, and communication might feel ...
7 Takeaways About Work Stress: What You Should Know
Most of us have to work. Unfortunately, this necessity of life can introduce a range of stressors. To help you manage them, ...
Dad Strength: Our New Program Aims To Give Fathers Support and Connection
Fatherhood can be one of the most rewarding, joyful experiences of your life. It can also be one of the most challenging. ...
The Healing Power of Music: Connecting Sound, Emotion, and Wellbeing
Music has always been a constant in my life — a fellow companion during moments of anger, grief, heartache, joy, and everything ...
Finding Therapy Near Me: 3 Tips To Get Started
Maybe you’ve been thinking about getting some mental health support. It can be a bit of a tricky situation, though. The reason ...
Check In for Teachers: How Are You Doing?
As a teacher, you’ve chosen a career path that invests in others. By providing an education to growing minds, you help to ...
San Fernando Valley Couples’ Counseling: What To Expect
Starting therapy on your own can feel daunting. When you’re diving in as a couple, it’s different. On the one hand, you ...
Back to School Support: Kids’ Anxiety Counseling in San Fernando Valley
Across the San Fernando Valley, most schools have been back in session for about a month now. For a lot of kids, ...
Do We Need Couples Counseling? Questions To Ask
Every relationship goes through challenging seasons. Maybe something external is at play, like a job loss or illness. Or maybe you’ve had ...
Trauma: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
When trauma strikes, it feels like being trapped in darkness with no way out. Yet, like the Thai cave rescue, healing happens ...
What To Expect at Your First Therapy Appointment
If you’re about to get started with therapy for the first time, you’re probably wondering how it’s going to go. Will your ...
In Person vs. Online: Should I Find Therapy Near Me?
If you’re ready to start seeing a therapist, you have options. Lots of different mental health professionals exist offering lots of different ...
Breaking the Silence: Destigmatizing Mental Health in the Military
By opening up dialogue, we can reshape how mental health is viewed in the military community. It starts with listening, sharing, and ...
Building Emotional Agility in Kids: Tips From a Child Therapist in Woodland Hills
Life can be overwhelming for kids and teens as LAUSD and other schools in the San Fernando Valley schools start back up ...
Self-Care: What you need to know
Self-care is trending. But before you dismiss it with the heap of other pointless social media trends, consider what you need. Would ...
Is Winter Wearing You Down?
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a depression that occurs in fall or winter and does not end until spring or summer. There ...
Disaster Mental Health
Recently, I had some experience with the effects of disaster during the Sonoma and Napa wildfires. I wasn’t in Northern California at ...
WVCC to open a new location in Ventura County
West Valley Counseling Center is excited to share with you our plans to open an additional office in Ventura County
Art Therapy With Children and Teens
Children love to make art; they are naturally creative and imaginative. As such, art therapy can be a more enjoyable and less ...
Announcement of April Fundraising Event at WVCC
Join us! Community Get-Together on Friday, April 7, 2017 It’s almost spring, and self-care is in the air! West Valley Counseling Center ...
Together We Make a Community. Together We Heal. Together We Can Ensure a Better Future for All.
Together We Make a Community. Together We Heal. Together We Can Ensure a Better Future for All. That was the theme for ...
Breathe: Staying Present When Holiday Fun Becomes Holiday Frustration
While the holidays are a special time of year for us, our families, and friends, our schedules can become so packed with ...
Holiday Stress
As we come to a full swing into the holiday season, many of us are preparing our shopping lists, getting baking supplies, ...
When Someone You Love Faces the Challenge of Mental Illness
It is very rare to meet a family that has not been touched by mental illness or psychiatric diagnosis. It may be ...
Mindful Parenting With Adolescents- Part II
Mindfulness-based practices are known to increase of brain gray matter in the right anterior insula.
Hispanic Identity Formation through the Acculturation Process - Part II
The stage of adolescent identity formation is a time of confusion, exploration, experimentation and even rebellion.
Attachment and Depression in Emerging Adulthood (18-25yrs)
Depression is one of the most common mental health issues for which people seek therapy.
Mindful Parenting With Adolescents
Mindfulness based approaches are ideal for adolescents, as their brains are still in the developmental stage.
Hispanic Immigrant Adolescents & the Acculturation Process
There are over 40 million immigrants currently residing in the United States. Hispanics represent over 14 million of that total. Approximately ¼ ...
Bonding With Your Teens
Teens can go from being cuddly and precocious children that cannot wait for parents or guardians to come home, to cold and ...
WVCC's Recent Phillips Institute Graduates!
West Valley Counseling Center Congratulates its recent graduates from Phillips Graduate Institute!
Living Life With Intention
Living with intention is mindfulness at its peak. How many days do individuals trudge to work, pick up the kids, watch television, ...
West Valley Counseling Center Sponsors SBHP's Training Breakfast
On May 27, San Fernando-based West Valley Counseling Center is teaming up with Star Behavioral Health Providers (SBHP) to sponsor SBHP’s training ...
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic violence, or domestic abuse, is a sort of blanket term that has taken on a life of its own through popular ...
Little Known Facts Regarding Domestic Violence
Often times, domestic violence is thought of as a traditional scenario where the perpetrator of the abuse is a man, and the ...
Dealing with College Acceptance and Rejection
As April looms closer, high school seniors and community college transfer students are waiting on pins and needles. Dealing with college acceptance ...
Erasing the Stigma of Mental Health Disorders
Discourse regarding mental health disorders is at an all time high, with celebrities and public figures talking about their struggles with anxiety ...
The Secret Gateway Drug: Prescription Pills
With all of the modern stressors that accompany adolescence, teens are looking for coping strategies and escape routes any way that they ...
Stress Management: The Healthy Way
Stress is an inevitable aspect of life, especially in today’s fast paced environment. Learning how to reduce, prevent, and cope with stress ...
The First Steps to Dream Tending
Throughout time, and across different cultures, dream analysis has been at the base of human creativity. Learning to work with dreams, as ...
Listening to Your Child with an Open Heart, Part 4: Early Adolescence and Transitioning to Middle School
As a Super Parent, you are a natural teacher. But even Super Parents don’t have all the answers. How can you help ...
Couples Therapy for Same Sex & Non-Traditional Couples
While many of the same dynamics and issues are present in both same sex and opposite sex couples, some factors, such as ...
West Valley at Child Care Resource Center Event
West Valley Counseling attends Child Care Resource Center's family event, which assists parents, child care professionals, and local communities in all matters ...
Listening to Your Child with an Open Heart, Part 3: The Early School Years
Listening to and understanding our children are two very different things. Communication can be difficult for the best communicators but what about ...
Benefits of Couples Therapy
Couples therapy can often seem daunting, and is usually considered a last resort to solving relationship issues. However, couples therapy and counseling ...
Spring Cleaning: Not Just the House
Traditional spring cleaning brings to mind scrubbing floors, throwing away useless or broken items, and maybe a new coat of paint on ...
The Importance of Hobbies and Extracurricular Activities for Adolescents
Hobbies are one of the greatest pleasures in life, but hobbies can often be overlooked in adolescence. As a parent, mentor, or ...
WVCC at the Encino Chamber of Commerce luncheon with Mayor Eric Garcetti
WVCC's members attended to the Encino Chamber of Commerce luncheon with guest speaker Mayor Eric Garcetti. On the photo we can see ...
Listening to Your Child With an Open Heart, Part 2: The Early Years
As a Super Parent, you are a natural teacher. But even Super Parents don’t have all the answers. How can you help ...
Finding a Balance in Life
Between work, family, friends, and community obligations, life can often seem more like an endless to-do list than an actual life. Finding ...
The Heart of the Matter: Help for Super Parents
As a Super Parent, you are a natural teacher. But even Super Parents don’t have all the answers. How can you help ...
From the Heart of Therapy
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found ...
May Is Mental Health Awareness Month
“WVCC is offering a free depression screening this month! Let us help you formulate a plan to feel better!"
Getting Unstuck
Becoming unstuck basically means being less at the mercy of our habitual reactions. There are a number of ways to do this. ...
Premarital Therapy for Step-Families
As Marriage and Family Therapists it is our job to treat families who face challenges and adversity. One of the most complicated ...
Putting a Stop to Unwanted Thoughts and Behaviors
The use of 'thought stopping' is meant to make the user aware of unhealthy thought chains. When followed with positive and reassuring ...
New Baby: The Juggling Game
Children have been raised in different types of situations with parents who are home full-time, work full-time, and everything in between, and ...
Four Parts to an Apology
An apology represents a common frailty--we are all human, we all make mistakes, perhaps even hurt someone, intentionally or not, then we ...