Individual Therapy in Santa Barbara
Helping people learn, heal, and grow through their relationships
About Me
Hi! I’m Katy Gaddess. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Santa Barbara.
I was drawn to become a therapist at a young age after being raised in an alcoholic family. The first 20 years of my career I worked as a social worker with children and families and it was incredibly impactful and life changing for me. I feel honored and grateful to have had done this work and bring my knowledge and awareness from my personal and professional experiences to my private practice today.
I am passionate about helping others understand how and why their early conditioning and experiences have affected them (not just on the surface but the deep ways) and to learn tools to heal, grow, and truly care for themselves in order to have the lives and relationships they are longing to have.
Summary of Therapeutic Services
Individual therapy for relationship issues
We learn a lot about ourselves through our relationships. They are the most important and meaningful things in our lives and can also be the most challenging. My approach allows for you to have a neutral space to fully process your feelings and experiences and learn about relationship patterns in your life. Looking at these issues without blame or shame will guide you to understand your own history and pattern of thoughts and behaviors and what you can do about it now to have healthier and more fulfilling relationships.
Treatment for Codependency
As a codependent you are often an overachiever, a perfectionist, the person who goes above and beyond yet never thinks that you do enough. The cycle is exhausting and by your nature you normally don’t stop to take care of yourself. I believe therapy can be an opportunity to look at codependency from a deeper understanding. To learn how to set aside your guilt and embarrassment, and look at how the behavior started, how you feel it’s served you (even when it hasn’t) and why it’s so hard and scary to try something new.
Therapy for Depression and Anxiety
As a social worker and therapist in private practice I have over 25 years experience working with depression, anxiety, and trauma. I have a clear understanding and approach in terms of evaluating, identifying the severity, and assisting you in creating an evidence based treatment plan to decrease your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse
Being in a relationship embedded with narcissistic behavior is hard. Leaving and recovering from being in that relationship is also hard. I will support you wherever you are on your path. Therapy can be a place to truly process your anger, resentment, and guilt about your situation and understand how you got there, how/why you stayed, and what you can do to take care of yourself and not repeat the pattern going forward.
