Do you find yourself frequently worrying about things you can’t control, obsessing over the small things, having sleepless nights, or having trouble in your work or relationships due to stress? Therapy can really help give you relief and give you the tools to better handle life’s pressures.
Feeling profoundly sad -- more than just a bad day but rather a hopelessness or emptiness
that doesn’t fully go away -- can be exhausting and isolating. It can also sap you of the will to make the
changes you know want in your life.
Talk therapy with an experienced psychotherapist can empower you to find relief and help you
feel more your old self, or even a healthier self.
I spent years in the entertainment industry as a writer and am familiar with the emotional pressures of that field. Procrastination, impostor syndrome, or simply trying to navigate the uncertainty of working in an ever more unstable field, are among the issues I’ve helped writers and other creative professionals with for many years.
I work with couples who are dating, engaged, or married. Working collaboratively with you and your partner, I try to help you both strengthen your understanding of one another, have better communication, and have a deeper connection.
I also introduce strategies and exercises you and your partner can practice together when outside the therapy session to better foster your relationship.
Born to immigrants from Argentina, I grew up in New York and received my undergraduate degree in liberal arts from Amherst College. After college, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a TV writer, and eventually had success working on network sitcoms.
As a writer I had always been interested in characters and their stories, but the idea of working with real people, hearing their stories, and helping them achieve real change spoke to me even more. So, I pivoted to becoming a therapist and received my Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. Before opening a private practice, I saw clients at Family Service of Santa Monica for several years. There I provided psychotherapy to a wide range of clients including individual adults, children, teens, families, and couples in both English and Spanish.
Therapy with me is a place where you can be yourself -- messy thoughts, doubts, fears and all -- and start to find your way forward.
As every individual and couple is different, I use a unique combination of therapeutic approaches that best fit your needs. These include psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and family systems, as well as other approaches. I try to create a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment in which we can work together to help you get relief and achieve your goals.
Should you be struggling with creative issues, my time in the entertainment industry left me very familiar with the emotional pressures of that field. I work with clients to help them better handle the stressors that come with working in the industry, and help them break down any emotional obstacles or negative patterns that are holding back their creativity.
Regardless of your background, I believe working together collaboratively and with empathy, self-compassion, and even some humor, we can help you make the positive changes you’re looking for.
Before I became a therapist, I spent years working as a TV writer in Los Angeles — and I know firsthand how much pressure and uncertainty creative professionals face.
I’ve always loved stories and what they reveal about human nature, but what drew me to therapy was the chance to help real people work through their own stories and make meaningful change.
My approach is warm, collaborative, and tailored to you. Depending on your needs, I draw from psychodynamic therapy, CBT, and family systems work to help you gain insight, build tools, and create lasting change.
And if you work in the entertainment industry, I bring a deep understanding of the emotional toll that can take — whether it’s navigating rejection, managing performance pressure, or simply trying to stay creative in the face of burnout.
Therapy with me is a place where you can be yourself — messy thoughts, doubts, fears and all — and start to find your way forward.
Maybe you can’t remember the last time you fell asleep easily — your mind just won’t shut off.
You find yourself replaying conversations, second-guessing decisions, and worrying about what others think.
Sometimes the anxiety feels so heavy, it’s hard to focus at work or enjoy time with people you care about.
Maybe you’re in the creative field and feeling stuck, uncertain if your work is good enough or if there’s even a future in what you’re doing.
You’re tired of the self-doubt, the pressure, the fear that you’ll be found out or replaced.
You want to stop worrying so much about the future — and just live in the present again.
You can build a life that feels more grounded and less consumed by worry.
You can learn to manage the stress that’s been weighing you down and stop letting it steal your energy and peace.
You can remember your strengths, feel more in control, and take steps toward a life that feels like yours again.
Even if the road ahead is uncertain, you don’t have to face it the way you have been — stuck in your head and worn thin.
I’ve been seeing clients since 2010 and have had my own solo private practice for over ten years.
Virtual sessions or phone sessions are available regardless of your location within California.
For those seeking in-person sessions (or a combination of virtual and in-person sessions), my office is located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles at 2898 Rowena Ave., Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90039.
I see clients from 10am through 8pm, Mondays through Thursday, and from 10am to 6pm on Fridays.
Sessions are 50 minutes long.
You can email me at [email protected], or by calling 323-943-2526.
Without using insurance, my fee is $190 per session for individuals and $225 per session for couples. I accept payment via Venmo, Paypal, credit card, or check.
For those with Aetna insurance, I'm an in-network provider. If you have another insurance plan, it may offer out-of-network benefits and I can provide a superbill (a detailed invoice) to help you receive any reimbursement your plan may offer. Insurance coverage can be confusing, so please let me know if you have any questions.
I am an in-network provider with Aetna. If you have another insurance plan, it may offer out-of-network benefits and I can provide a superbill (a detailed invoice) to help you receive any reimbursement your plan may offer. Insurance coverage can be confusing, so please let me know if you have any questions.
I offer a free initial consultation of about 15 minutes to learn a little about your situation and answer any questions you may have. If you forget to ask a question until after the call, that’s no problem, and you can just email me with any other questions you may have.
The first session is a chance for you to get to share what brought you to therapy in a warm, supportive space, and for me to get to know some of the details of your life. If it’s your first time ever in therapy, do know that there’s no way to do it wrong, and you are free to share only as much as feels comfortable.
I try to make clients feel heard and supported, so that they can be their authentic selves and share how they’re feeling and process their difficult moments (either ongoing ones or ones from the past) and break habits that might be getting in their way.
I don’t tell clients directly what to do when it comes to big decisions, but rather work with them so they can decide what they themselves want and feel is best for themselves. I do share advice and guidance that I believe can help them, or point out if they seem to be repeating a negative pattern that has left them dissatisfied in the past, but will always leave ample room for them to disagree. I also work to have clients find compassion for themselves, as too many of us are our harshest critics.
When working with couples, I will do my best to help each partner better understand the other’s point of view and have better communication, without ever taking a side.
For a little more on how I approach things, it may be helpful for you to read this article I wrote for “The Hollywood Reporter” in 2023, during the Writers Guild of America strike of that year.
How long will I be in therapy?
There’s no set amount of time for therapy. Some clients continue with weekly sessions even after the original issue that brought them to therapy has been resolved, as they next want to work on other aspects of their emotional health.
Others find satisfaction with having gotten through a specific situation or having made the change in their life they were seeking and decide to end their sessions. Whatever the case, it’s always the client’s call.
Also, should a client end sessions but then sometime in the future want to return to therapy to work on some other issue, the door is always open.
Do you offer video or phone sessions?
In addition to in-person sessions for those based locally, I offer telehealth sessions over Zoom or via a phone call.
Some clients like to take a hybrid approach, where they come into the office some weeks, but other weeks prefer telehealth sessions from the convenience of their home.
I believe I am very empathetic and non-judgmental, as well as an eager listener of different people’s experiences and perspectives.
I also bring an analytic perspective to what my clients have shared and identify larger patterns in their behavior (both beneficial and detrimental) that clients themselves may have missed, as they are sometimes too close to the experience or events described. I’m then able to help clients take action to break their negative patterns in a way that is a good fit for them as an individual or couple.
What do you enjoy about being a therapist?
I really enjoy getting to know people and hearing their stories and their struggles. I find it deeply rewarding to see clients find relief and make real changes in their lives.
Licensed Provider
LMFT California License #85650
Online and in-person therapy for adults, teens, and couples
Licensed Provider
LMFT California License #85650
Get In Touch
Silver Lake at 2898 Rowena Ave., Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90039
©2025 by Alan Dybner