Maggie Shelton, LCSW
I have a career in leading conversations that focus on strengths and resources, enhance resiliency, lean on creativity, and create change. I do this in systems of many sizes in my practice as a consultant, coach, and psychotherapist.
I received my Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Iowa and took two years postgraduate training in Couples and Family Therapy from the Menninger Foundation. One advantage of a social work education is that one learns systemic thinking and how to work with systems of many sizes.
My work in consulting and coaching is enhanced by my study of collaborative organizational change processes, and particularly leadership, in a program offered by Tilburg University and the Taos Institute from 2007-2012. I have training and experience in the following practices, all of which are among my professional offerings:
- Collaborative organization consulting
- Relational leadership
- Leadership coaching
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Public Conversations Project
- Art of Hosting
My work in psychotherapy has always included individual adults, couples, families, and groups. My clients have been impacted by trauma, coped with depression, anxiety, sexual difficulties, identity development, difficulties in work environments, challenges in relationships, pursued aspirations in the professions and arts, and explored existential questions. Many have coped with the impact of discrimination and oppression based on race, ethnicity, gender, identity, religion, and intersectional factors.
I have worked extensively with intimate partners and intimate relationship networks. This includes LGBTQI clients, polyamory, monogamy, and heterosexual clients. I’m trained in Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration Therapy and am very interested in helping people integrate transformational experiences with plant medicines, meditation, workshops, etc.
My relational and collaborative approach focuses on identifying and building on people’s strengths. Some call me a dialogue artist for the way conversations I lead get to the heart of the matter. One of my approaches is hypnosis, which amplifies a person’s focus on moving forward. I’m told that my presence conveys respect and acceptance.
In all cases, I hold the value of dialogue. That requires listening, respect, and curiosity. My experience has shown me that engaging with clients dialogically builds a collaborative relationship and encourages rich conversations about their strengths and the challenges they encounter.
Currently, I offer psychotherapy and consulting virtually (telehealth) from my office in Palm Springs, California.
My teaching experience includes California State University, San Bernardino, the University of Southern California, Alliant University, and Phillips Graduate Institute in the Los Angeles area, and conducting workshops and training both nationally and internationally.
I have held the positions of Clinical Director of the Southern California Counseling Center, Clinical Director of the Valley Family Center, and Director of Clinical Training Programs of California Family Counseling Center/Phillips Graduate Institute. I hold an ongoing position as a consultant, supervisor, and trainer at The Relational Center in Los Angeles, where my work has included developing and leading public dialogues, training students in organizational development and psychotherapy, and supervising psychotherapy trainees.
I am an avid practitioner of tai chi as well as a Buddhist. I live in Palm Springs, California with my husband and our two dogs.
Please visit my personal website maggiesheltonlcsw.com or email me at maggie@maggiesheltonlcsw.com for more information.
License no. LCS 9581
Contact
t: 760-537-0370
e. maggie@maggiesheltonlcsw.com
Ron Diliberto, LCSW
I entered into the profession of psychotherapy first as a paraprofessional working with LA Shanti in the early 1990’s and then getting my degree in social work from the University of Southern California. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been in private practice for over ten years. Currently I provide supervision at the Southern California Counseling Center and in my private practice. My areas of interest are substance abuse, adoption, HIV/AIDS, and anxiety with a special focus on couple’s therapy. Additionally, I am an EMDR trained therapist and a member of EMDRIA.
I believe that it is impossible, for a mental health “expert” to be able to determine what is “psychologically healthy,” since there is no true measurement of mental health. Therefore the focus of my work is on “deconstruction.” To “deconstruct” means to examine what we believe to be true and carefully determine its usefulness and appropriateness from my client’s perspective.
I also believe that all of our thoughts and behaviors exist in cultural, religious, and social contexts that give them meaning and significance and that our views of ourselves are shaped through an unconscious process of filtering through our experiences and selecting those that are most aligned with the stories we hold about ourselves.
License no. LCS 20556
Contact
t: 323.461.1761
e. Ron.diliberto@gmail.com
Lynne Rosen, LCSW
“When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in service of my vision—then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” —Audre Lorde
Welcome!
Having worked in the field for almost 30 years I have come to appreciate—despite our desire and intention to create meaningful change—how relational patterns and habits of mind/body persist! I continue to feel inspired as I witness people risk their vulnerability, challenge the status quo, populate their lives with allies, and engage their creativity to find a path forward.
CONTEXT
Our dilemmas don’t occur in a vacuum. We are told how we “should” live our lives according to standards that we “should” measure up to, but these requirements may no longer fit with what we most value, or with who we want to become. We may have different hopes, hopes that have gone underground or are waiting to emerge.
COLLABORATION: WORKING WITH OUR STORIES
Together, in a safe and brave space, we will work on renegotiating your relationship with unhelpful or outdated narratives, patterns, and body experiences. We will unpack socio-political forces that may shape and keep some problems alive. Through an active process we will explore your vision for your life and relationships, and we will mine for skills, creativity, and knowledges that will empower you to take steps toward meaningful change.
BEYOND TALK
I have learned from my own journey of healing that some problems can’t be talked away.
Memories, sensations, and emotions from traumatic experiences may intrude the present in ways that don’t feel right-sized. It may feel threatening or unsafe to experience what emerges, and in response we might become highly anxious, dissociative, or shut down as a strategy to survive. These strategies deserve to be honored as they may have been life-saving in the past, but they may hold us back from thriving in the present. Integrating talk therapy with Somatic Therapies, EMDR Therapy, and Interpersonal Neurobiology into my practice has helped clients reclaim their agency, and a visceral sense of safety and aliveness.
AREAS OF INTEREST
- Helping people navigate and gain freedom from the effects of abuse and trauma
- Working with artists
- So-called Single Life After 30
- The discovery and expression of eroticism in our lives
- Helping couples (monogamous, polyamorous, or open) and communities explore ways to coordinate relationships that are mutually satisfying and meaningful
- Addressing the insidious effects of racism, heterosexism, economic inequality, and sexism in our lives
- The pressures and politics of managing the competing demands of our work, relationships, and self-care
- Dictates, joys, contradictions, and the messiness of raising and/or mentoring young people
- Constructing masculinities that support personal and relational wellbeing
- Integrating Narrative Therapy with less linear therapies (EMDR, Somatic, IPNB) both philosophically and practically
CONSTRUCTING A PLAN
Early in our work we will come up with a plan you feel will best support movement and change.
We are all in this together!
Looking forward…
Lynne
ABOUT LYNNE
Lynne is a board and faculty member of Re-Authoring Teaching, an international learning community of Narrative Therapy enthusiasts, where she teaches Em-BODY-ing conversations training and consultation groups. For many years Lynne worked as Core Faculty and Director of the Postmodern Therapy Training Program at Phillips Graduate Institute, and as Co-Founder of WPLA (Women’s Project Los Angeles). She continues to enjoy teaching, supervising, and training in many contexts. She is the proud mother of two adult sons, and loves photography, forests, lakes, crunchy leaves, and any athletic endeavor that allows her to feel wind!
License no. LCS 19324
Location
143 N. Larchmont Boulevard Second Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Contact
t: (626) 523-1482
e. lrosen@larchmontassociates.com