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VANESSA SETTEDUCATO, LMFT
Relational Therapy in California | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #119184
THF Therapy
Hi, I'm Vanessa
(she/her)
I became a therapist because I know how important it is to have a non-judgmental place to be seen and heard as yourself.
In my decade working one-on-one with clients, I've seen first-hand how expressive the soul can become when consistent support, care, and curiosity are present. I believe humans are fundamentally oriented toward self-actualization and living our strengths all the way out, but barriers arise that we must tend to. This is work where ups and downs and unknowns abound, but a therapeutic relationship that serves as an anchor can help you stay the course.
Outside of the therapy room, I'm usually taking photographs, painting, playing with clay at my local pottery studio, or curling up with my sweet dog, Toby.
My Educational Background
Bachelor of Business Administration, Business Management | Hofstra University
Master of Arts, Counseling/Depth Psychology | Pacifica Graduate Institute
Advanced Training Certificate, Applied Mythology | Pacifica Graduate Institute
Carl Jung called suffering a great teacher.
I see my role as one that helps you unlock its hidden lessons, supports you back to a healing place, and invites you expand through alchemy and meaning-making.
Together, using our imagination, curiosity, and individual strengths, we partake in a collaborative experience where you feel supported, cared for, and challenged to try something new.
How I Work
Using empathy, curiosity, and tender humor, I meet you where you are and create an environment aimed toward your safety.
Apart from our first few sessions, in which I'll ask some questions to get us started, I rely on you to begin our sessions. This is because you are the spontaneous spark that lays out the path before us.
There's no wrong topic. Therapy content doesn't need to be itemized or prepared. In my experience, what needs to be talked about will be talked about, even if it's not what you thought needed to be talked about. Trust the process, and we'll work to energize your mindful curiosity over your urges to "get it right."
What I Value
At its root, my aim as a therapist is to develop a therapeutic relationship in which you feel seen, heard, and able to express yourself. Organically, this expression may take on forms that can typically be challenging in your personal relationships, making the therapeutic space a novel one in which new things can be explored.
The process of self-discovery is a beautiful one that allows your whole self to come into focus. Inviting in and healing the unconscious material behind your struggle can lead to long-lasting change.
Hidden within that unconscious material may be the realization that what informs you from within was created from without. The systems in which we develop and live -- families, schools, communities, cultures -- can inform our values, self-worth, and experiences of safety out in the world. This is imperative to name and process in therapy so that you're not holding blame, shame, and inertia for that which was never yours in the first place.
I am affirmative of LGBTQ+ and relationship-minorities, including polyamory, and take seriously the impact of my privileges as a cis, white therapist.
Where I Learned
I've worked in community mental health, residential treatment, and private practice settings. In these settings, I have supported a wide variety of clients over the years, including high-risk adolescents, couples, unhoused Veterans, and adult individuals struggling with mental health and daily stress alike.
I received my master's degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Therapy is my second career, and it's still hard to believe I've been practicing for nearly a decade.
Before getting my master's, I got a BBA in business management from Hofstra University in New York, where I'm originally from. I loved working music editorial and digital marketing jobs in New York City, but found therapy (and Los Angeles) to be a better home. However, this experience helps me understand the stressors of clients working in the corporate world.
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