Gloria Houston, AMFT
Relational psychotherapy for individuals and couples in California.
About Therapy
Many people come to therapy having spent years holding themselves together through achievement, perfectionism, or focusing on the needs of others.
Therapy is a space where you can experiment with setting that down.
Throughout our lives, we learn strategies to make meaning and manage our emotions in a way that keeps us safe and connected. As we grow up, we often find that we’re using some old strategies that limit us. Together, we can look at your challenges not as flaws to be fixed, but as intelligent adaptations that kept you safe in the past. We will honor them as we explore what kind of adjustments could be more supportive for you now.
In my practice, structure gives way to organic discovery. Rather than imposing external strategies, I follow your process with curiosity and care. This can be especially supportive if you're anxious, perfectionistic, or tend to over-rely on externalized order: therapy can be a place where complexity is embraced rather than avoided.
Meaningful growth happens when you can develop a consistent, compassionate relationship with yourself. From that base, we can explore outward, clarifying boundaries, needs, longings, and the life you want to build.
You might be here if you….
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You struggle with feeling like peace is something you have to earn, not experience
You rely on external order for internal security
Control feels like survival, not choice
You’re exhausted from having to hold everything together
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You’ve been the “mature one” since childhood
You learned to stifle your feelings and needs for safety, or to keep peace
You find you’d often rather take care of things on your own vs. ask for help
Your caregivers or family members were (or are) experiencing significant challenges of their own.
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You’re only okay if others are okay
Your sense of self-worth is tied to being useful or needed
You adjust to others’ needs and experiences, often losing track of your own
You have loved ones managing addiction or mental illness
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Questioning whether you are living your purpose, or considering making a big change and don’t know how
Starting or finishing high school or college
Becoming a parent, or facing an “empty nest”
Caring for an aging parent or family member
Going through relationship changes
Beginning or ending a career
About Gloria
I'm drawn to the complexity of being human: the tension between connection and individuality, the ways our efforts to protect ourselves can hurt, and the courage it takes to examine patterns formed in childhood. I believe therapy works best when it meets you where you are, respects what you've learned, and invites exploration (and experimentation) at your own pace.
I have a master’s in counseling psychology the Wright Institute, where I received my formal education and training in psychotherapy. My approach is trauma-informed and rooted in attachment theory, relational psychodynamic work, and parts-based therapies. I take an anti-oppressive systems lens, incorporating awareness as to how the world we live in contributes to our unique challenges. But more than any specific technique, I trust in the power of sustained attention, curiosity, and a safe relationship where your own wisdom can emerge.
The Details
My fees are $160 for a 45-minute individual session, or $210 for a 60-minute relationship session.
I offer free 20-minute consultations where we can get a sense of each other and see if we’re a good fit. You can reach out to schedule a consultation here.
I work with adolescents (age 12+), adults, and couples. When working with adolescents, I also do regular calls with caregivers.
At this time, my sessions are all online using a secure video platform.
I am an out-of-network provider. This means I cannot bill insurance directly but I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your insurer for reimbursement.
If you have any other questions (big or small), please reach out: gloria@joelatuga.com