Dr. David Shapiro

Psychologist, California Licensed Psychologist (License# PSY17495)

In-Person in Irvine, CA

In-Person in Newport Beach, CA 92660

Online in California

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to consider working with me as your therapist. I appreciate the importance of finding a good match. I hope that the following information will help you know more about me and the care I provide so you can begin to consider if I would be most helpful to you. One thing that distinguishes me as a clinician is the level and quality of training and experience I was fortunate to receive. I hold a Ph.D. from the APA Accredited Counseling Psychology Training Program at the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College - Columbia University, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. As part of my doctoral training I completed a full-time year-long pre-doctoral internship at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in Loma Linda, California, where I received intensive supervised experience in a variety of areas. I went on to become a licensed California Psychologist, a credential I still maintain. Most recently I also added to that becoming a Singapore Registered Psychologist as well. Throughout my professional life I have held a variety of positions in both the private sector as well as governmental agencies, but the majority of my career has been in private practice. For a number of years I ran a group practice in Orange County, California, in which I provided a lot of direct clinical care, as well as supervising developing clinicians, and overseeing the overall operation of the group. During that time, I also taught Psychology at U.C. Irvine and served as the Chair of the Professional Practice Committee and as a Board Member for the Orange County Psychological Association. During those years, I provided a variety of types of therapy to a range of clients, and developed a range of areas of expertise. With over 20 years of experience as a Psychologist, I have come to realize that the best therapy involves more than just teaching of skills, though of course a great deal of teaching takes place. In this way, I have moved away from cookie cutter approaches that try to treat everyone the same. Of course, as needed I am able to connect my clients with workbooks and other materials that help them learn to learn useful strategies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, various enrichment programs for couples, and the like. However, in my view these resources are used to support the true work of therapy, which in my experience involves a particular type of relationship - one that is focused on helping each individual to embrace the life he or she truly wants and supporting that person in taking the steps necessary in manifesting that life. In this way, at it's core, the best therapy is individualized rather than standardized. Unfortunately, this type of care is becoming increasingly uncommon. Instead, because of variety of societal pressures, including those of managed care, the emphasis in mental health is toward having therapists apply standardized treatment protocols aimed at promptly reducing symptoms rather than empowering such things as self-actualization. These types of therapies do have value, and they allow clinicians of various levels of training and skill to have some positive impact, often in ways that are highly cost effective. That said, my practice focuses on caring for people who seek personalized care, aimed not just at relieving symptoms but rather on empowering people to claim their lives. If this is what you seek, I would honored to assist you in claiming your life, bringing your reality in line with how you would ideally like things to be. I have spent years in honing the skills necessary to provide this care, and my most sincere commitment is to make such therapy available to discerning clientele who value such a personalized approach.

Biopsychosocial
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Contemplative Psychotherapy
Eclectic
Existential/Humanistic
Hypnotherapy
Integrative
Interpersonal
Person-Centered
Relational Psychotherapy
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Approach Description: I utilize a strategic approach to support clients in bringing their reality in line with how they would ideally like their life to be like. I work with each client, couple, or family with whom I work to form individualized success plans based on their unique needs and preferences.

Dr. David Shapiro California Licensed Psychologist (License# PSY17495)

Male
License # PSY 17495
Licensed in CA
Practicing Since 2000

Education: I hold a Ph.D. from the APA Accredited Counseling Psychology Training Program at the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College - Columbia University, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Therapy Sessions

Available In-Person in Irvine, CA and Newport Beach, CA 92660
Available Online for residents of California
Online Therapy Details: I offer secure, encrypted therapy online to discerning clients in California and internationally.

Dr. David Shapiro Practice Description

I offer a boutique type of online psychotherapy practice for discerning adults, adolescents, couples and families. The emphasis is on quality of care rather than on seeing a large volume of clients. In general I work with higher functioning adults and adolescents. In fact, a large percentage of my clients are successful professionals and gifted students. Because the therapy I provide is exclusively online my practice is not well suited to individuals with serious mental illness, or risk of harm to self or others. Because I am licensed as a Psychologist in California, many of my clients are located throughout the state, but so too do I provide therapy to clients internationally. A significant percentage of my international clients are Western Expats working abroad and their families. My caseload includes individual therapy with adults and adolescents, as well as a fair amount of couples counseling cases. The family therapy I do tends to involve a combination of parent coaching sessions along with individual counseling of the younger person and some sessions where I also meet with the parents and the adolescent together. My approach to therapy is highly individualized. Rather than putting people through a prefabricated program, I work with each individual, couple, and family to develop their own treatment plans based upon the needs and preferences of each client or system with whom I work. The style of therapy that I provide can be described as Strategic in that I strive to assist people in identifying and applying the strategies necessary to set up the conditions that will allow them to materialize the life they they want. Another characterization of the therapy that I provide is Person-Centered. The Person Centered Approach of Carl Rogers is considered an Existential-Phenomenological style of therapy which aims at promoting Self-Actualization. A central premise of Person-Centered Therapy is that inside of each individual is a tendency to move toward health. My clinical work embraces this view, and the therapy I provide is guided by the goal of supporting my clients in moving toward health and maximizing their human potential. In general, my clients do not require a large number of sessions in order to obtain the results they seek, but I do tend to maintain contact with my clients for relatively long periods of time. Though this may sound contradictory, this is accomplished by a process of tapering off the frequency of sessions over time. I tend to see clients on roughly a week schedule for between 4-8 sessions, and then strive to extend the interval between sessions to every other week for another 4-8 sessions, and then extend the interval longer (perhaps 3-4 weeks), etc. In this way, though the total number of sessions needed my be between 12-20 visits, our work together may extend a year or beyond. Of course, throughout the process, clients are encouraged to schedule more frequent visits as needed, based upon events and challenges that could arise, but the overall goal is to support those with whom I work to move toward ever increasing independence and empowerment. Very clients who successfully complete a course of therapy with me will return years or months later for tune ups or to address a new life challenge. As referenced previously, my practice is now exclusively online. I do conduct seminars and retreats at various times throughout the year, and clients often participate depending upon their interests and needs. Individual, couples, and family sessions can be arranged during these residential events, but overall the therapy I am presently providing is conducted online. As a California Licensed Psychologist the services I provide may be eligible to be submitted for reimbursement by PPO insurances on an out of network basis by clients in California, and by clients abroad. I will provide superbills and other supporting documentation needed to submit for reimbursement. Unfortunately, I am not licensed in other states and so I limit my USA psychotherapy practice to California only. I hope that this description provided a feel for the type of therapy I provide and me as a clinician. If you would like to continue to explore working with me I invite you to reach out and will gladly answer any questions you may have. Thank you for taking the time to consider working with me.