Therapy Services

Dr. Christine Pourandrias has over a decade of training and experience serving children, adolescents, adults and their families in therapy services.

Family Therapy Services

Family therapy services helps people to work on communication skills. Individuals are given a place to process their thoughts and feelings, with one another. Dr. Pourandrias addresses unhealthy family dynamics that lead to conflict. Dr. Pourandrias encourages members of the family to engage and connect. Therapy services provided through  family therapy, individuals learn the importance of taking each other’s perspective, valuing one another and verbalizing emotional needs . Dr. Pourandrias focuses on helping families improve their relationship dynamics. Family therapy services can help you address difficulties with parenting, co-parenting, life transitions, loss and grief and generational gaps between children and their caregivers.

Child Therapy Services

Birth to 5

Dr. Pourandrias has earned a concentration in Developmental Psychology and has over a decade of experience working with infants and toddlers. Dr. Pourandrias studied Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Developmental Disabilities at UCLA.  Dr. Pourandrias has received training through Los Angeles County focused on emerging research working with children birth-5. Dr. Pourandrias has ample knowledge about healthy child rearing practices and provides parenting workshops to many families. Therapy services are also offered to preschools who incorporate techniques that foster healthy emotional development of children.

Early Years: 4 to 7

Therapy services for this age range can be helpful in many aspects. For example, children are adjusting to Kindergarten and transitioning to first grade. Children this age may be faced with challenges such as self-esteem difficulties, behavioral problems. Many children begin an adjustment period in which they struggle with their sleep, eating and personal hygiene. Children of divorced families and blended families begin to raise new questions that can be challenging for parents to address. Dr. Pourandrias conducts play therapy services to help resolve underlying problems that lead to difficulties in these areas. Play therapy services include projective play therapy and Sandtray therapy services.

Latency: 7 to 12

Pre-teen is an age when most young girls and boys are transitioning to Middle School. Social skills such as “what makes a good friend” and “what to do to stay out of trouble” can be helpful discussions while working with this age group. Dr. Pourandrias, makes a commitment to learning from each individual to help them attain desirable relationships with family and friends.

Adolescents: 13 to 17

While many consider the teenage years to be rather challenging to “deal with” Dr. Pourandrias has a special connection with teens. She works on building trust with teens and listens to each person’s unique story. Dr. Pourandrias treats each teenager individually to help with working through difficult times. Dr. Pourandrias also helps adolescents explore their identity which strengthens their self-worth and respect.

Couples Therapy Services

Dr. Pourandrias uses the Differentiation model  to work with couples. Dr. Pourandrias works with couples to help reestablish intimacy in their relationship. Her goal as a clinical psychologist is to provide a safe, supportive and growth-oriented environment to improve people’s interpersonal relationships.

Dr. Pourandrias specializes in the following problem areas

  • Abuse
  • Abuse Survivor Issues
  • Adjusting to Change / Life Transitions
  • ADHD
  • Agoraphobia
  • Anger
  • Anger Management
  • Anxiety
  • Asperger’s Syndrome
  • Autism
  • Behavioral Issues
  • Birthing
  • Blended Family Issues
  • Codependency / Dependency
  • Coping Skills
  • Defiant Behaviors in Children and Teen
  • Identity Issues
  • Depression
  • Developmental Disorders (Autism, Aspergers, etc.)Disability
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Violence
  • Drug Abuse
  • Dual Diagnosis
  • Eating and Food Issues
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Emotional Overwhelm
  • Family Conflict
  • Intellectual Disability
  • Learning Disabilities
  • LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Issues
  • Loss, and Bereavement
  • Marital and Premarital
  • Mood Disturbance
  • Mood Swings
  • Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD)
  • Oppositional Defiance
  • Parenting
  • Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD)
  • Relationship Issues
  • Self Esteem
  • Self-Compassion
  • Self-Harm
  • Sensitivity to Criticism
  • Trust Issues
  • Women’s Issues