Life Dr. offers Unique Strategies for Living the Life of Your Dreams

There is a significant difference between a "Psychotherapist" and a "Life-Coach" most notably related to experience. Life-Coaches have generally done weekend seminars to earn a certificate vs. a Psychotherapist who has earned a Master Degree in Counseling and more. Life-experience and the person behind the license, degree or certificate of any kind is key to choosing a good professional.

A good Psychotherapist has worked over a 4 year time period to earn a Master Degree in Counseling, with an emphasis on the mind-body connection, relational studies, human behavior, coping & communication skills, intention setting and remaining accountable. Psychotherapists licensed in California have very extensive training and the most rigorous internship requirements. We actually keep track of 5000 face-to-face counseling hours and other supervision and training that is required before we are eligible to sit for the Board of Behavioral examinations and become licensed. The more prominent practitioners have Post-graduate Training Fellowships in Psychiatry and a hospital setting which gives them an advanced Bio-Psycho-Social perspective.

Is therapy right for me?

There are many reasons why people come to therapy. Many seek the advice of a coach or consultant as they pursue their own personal exploration and growth. Other times it is in response to unexpected changes in a persons life such as a divorce or work transition, children going away to college, or an unexpected event. Working with a good therapist can help provide insight, support, and new strategies to work through all types of life challenges and a wide variety of issues calling for greater self-care & support: including depression, anxiety, conflict, grief, stress management, body-image issues, and general life transitions. Seeking out therapy is an individual choice. It is right for anyone who is interested in getting the most out of their life by taking responsibility, creating greater self-awareness, and working towards change in their lives.

How can psychotherapy help me?

Therapy can provide support, problem-solving skills and enhanced coping strategies for handling unresolved childhood issues, relationship troubles, career concerns, creative blocks, and everyday struggles in life. A Life-Style Consultant & Coach can offer support for healthy living, offer ideas for a fresh perspective, as well as point you in the direction of a solution. The benefits you obtain from therapy depend on how well you use the process and put into practice what you learn. Some of the benefits available from therapy include:

* Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values
* Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence
* Developing skills for improving your relationship to yourself & others
* Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
* Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
* Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures
* Improving communication and listening skills
* Changing old behavior patterns and developing new ones
* Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage

What is therapy like?

Every counseling session is unique and caters to each individual and their specific goals. It is standard for therapists to discuss the primary issues and concerns in your life during therapy sessions. That may cause you to temporarily feel worse before you start to feel better. It is common to schedule a series of weekly sessions, where each session lasts at least fifty minutes. Therapy can be short-term and focused on a specific issue, longer-term to address more complex issues, or ongoing for personal growth & development. For therapy to be most effective you must be an active participant, both during & between the sessions. There may be times when you are asked to take certain actions outside of the therapy sessions, such as reading a relevant book, keeping records to track certain behaviors, or other home-play. It is important to process what has been discussed and integrate it into your life between sessions. People seeking psychotherapy are willing to take responsibility for their actions, work towards self-change and create greater awareness in their lives.

Here are some things you can expect out of therapy:

* Compassion, respect and understanding
* Perspectives to illuminate persistent patterns and negative feelings
* Real strategies for enacting positive change
* Effective and proven techniques along with practical guidance

How are you & your therapy practice unique?

I see life as an exciting adventure! I am very easy to get along with and a really Positive & Compassionate person. People meet me and think that I have had a "perfect life," but I have not always felt that way. I have lived a full life of both unimaginable circumstance and extraordinary experiences that have given me gifts of awareness, intuition and life-experience. Everyday I feel passionate & curious and want to do & discover more about myself & the world I live in. I have lived & traveled, and worked with people all over the world. I am a professional student of Life (really, that is what I do for fun) and I enjoy sharing what I have learned for myself to help inspire others.

My clients feel really safe, valued & understood as we look at what is true in their world, and what we need to do to help create and live a better life-story. We look at how they are living their life on the physical, mental, emotional & spiritual levels and set goals & intentions to move forward and live more joyfully in each of these areas. We will look at how they are taking care of themselves and find healthy coping skills to better deal with everyday struggles. We look at how they are thinking and the limiting beliefs that keep them small. I help my clients find a more supportive voice as we work to increase communication & assertiveness skills so that they feel more confident & comfortable and can then experience a greater sense of love & connection. Overall, I enjoy helping people develop a stronger sense of who they are & learn to value themselves more and enjoy their lives and the people in them.... I am helping my clients learn to love & feel more deserving of love through taking better care of themselves.

I love being creative and use an eclectic-mix of traditional & unique (eastern & western) interventions to help create positive results. I offer Life-Style consulting and also provide: support for making changes in personal-style and dress, decorating-tips and design ideas for the home as well as other Self-Care skills like learning how to update or do their own make-up & hair. I am known to give home play in the form of: help for creating a Healthy Kitchen, Meditation CD's, Yoga or Movement Therapy for Strength as well as Fertility support, and work modules that help guide my clients to Live their New Money, Career, Relationship, Success or Wellness Story. My intention is to help my clients look & feel Beautiful so that they reflect their Best-Self at home or in any environment.

Do I really need therapy? I can usually handle my problems.

Everyone goes through challenging situations in life, and while you may have successfully navigated through other difficulties you have faced, there is nothing wrong with seeking out the support of a good coach when you need it. In fact, therapy is for people who have enough self-awareness to realize they sometimes need a helping hand, and that is something to be admired. You are taking responsibility by accepting where you are at in life and making a commitment to address the situation and overcome whatever challenges you face. A good psychotherapist can help you to re-direct damaging patterns and give you the tools you need to avoid triggers which help ensure long-lasting benefits and support.

Is medication a substitute for therapy?

It is well established that the long-term solution to mental and emotional problems and pain cannot be solved solely by medication. Instead of just treating the symptom, therapy addresses the underlying cause of distress and the behavior patterns that curb progress and contribute to "dis-ease." In some cases a combination of medication and therapy is the right course of action. A good therapist works in conjunction with a Psychiatrist or Medical Doctor and can help you to determine what is best for you. You can grow as a person and achieve a greater sense of well-being through a whole-person perspective and an integrative approach to overall wellness through conscious intention and action taken on the Physical, Mental, Emotional & Spiritual levels. Please Download my E-Guide from my website as a gift to better understand exploring life on these levels more completely.

Do you accept insurance? How does insurance work?

Please ask about my availability to accept insurance coverage, and confirm that I currently have room in my practice. To determine if you have mental health coverage, you should check with your insurance carrier and carefully find out the answers to the following questions:

* What are my mental health benefits?
* What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
* How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
* How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
* Is approval required from my primary care physician?

When you can answer these questions with confidence please contact me to discuss.

Is therapy confidential?

In general, the law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and psychotherapist.
No information is disclosed without prior written permission from the client. However, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. Exceptions include:

* Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse.
The therapist is required to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
* If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person.
The therapist is required to notify the police.
* If a client intends to harm himself or herself.

The therapist will make every effort to work with the individual to ensure their safety however, if an individual does not cooperate, additional measures may need to be taken.

About Tina's Experience:

Tina Littlewood-Morse is recognized as a Personal Growth Expert, Psychotherapist and Media Personality. She is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with over 15 years of experience in the Wellness industry. Tina has earned a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and presented at Cedars-Sinai Hospital as part of a Treatment Team in the Outpatient Psychiatry Department & the Early Childhood Center. She is certified as a Yoga & Movement Therapist, has also earned a Masters Degree in Spiritual Psychology and works with the Laws of Attraction.

You may have seen Tina in TV & Film or Magazines. She has worked as a Model & Actress in the U.S and abroad for many years. She has represented companies like Max Factor & Maybelline, was a Spokes-Model Finalist on Star Search, guest-starred with John Cusack, and was featured in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and much more. Her most important roles have been as a loving mom, good friend and wife.

Tina is an Artist and she is Certified as an Interior Decorator, she enjoys being creative and sessions at her healing center can include the use of: Art Therapy, Yoga & Movement Therapy for Chakra-Healing and Fertility, Meditation & Visualization, EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique, EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, Beauty & Environmental Therapy, use of a Massage chair with Hypnotherapy of your choice, or Light-Therapy machine as you feel comfortable and desire. Tina maintains a private practice in Bel-Air, California and provides; in-person psychotherapy, telephone or internet coaching in a comfortable & healing environment, or, walking sessions at the park or beach when agreed upon.

Testimonial: about Tina

"Divorce can be very painful and it can lower your self-esteem. Tina helped me believe in myself again and is teaching me how to take better care of myself. Now I am dating and creating a dream life that I would have never have thought possible. Tina walks the talk and is a wealth of information."
Kathy M

Dear Tina,
"Thanks for counseling me. I feel that you were there for me, and genuinely interested in what I had to say. I got to levels that I have not gotten to before and I really appreciate that. You have a very loving presence and it made it easier for me. "
Brent

"Tina, I love your insights. You are full of wisdom. A delicate beauty with insight like a wise woman beyond your years."
Sylvia

"It has been my pleasure to work as a colleague of Tina Morse. Among the strengths that I have consistently observed while working with Tina (in treatment team), is her ability to balance rapid assessment of the problem, to the formulation and implementation of the treatment plan, while maintaining the ability to be an empathetic and sensitive listener. Tina intuitively understands what the client struggles with in terms of family of origin issues, current stressors, emotional states, social networks, physical health, coping skills, and interpersonal conflict. I recommend her without reservation."
Cathie Pechnick, M.S.W.
Department of Psychiatry
Cedars-Sinai Hospital

"Tina has a solid sense of clinical and personal ethics and integrity. She presents herself very professionally and is a fine asset to our organization."
Marika Zaharkiv
Friends of the Family

"Tina consistently manifested an honesty, forthrightness, and integrity that demonstrates a mature sense of values."
Donald Barenfeld, L.C.S.W.

"Tina Littlewood-Morse was in a course which I taught on Alternative Medicine. She impressed me with her ability to write about the subject, and is very well spoken. Her writing is more typical of journalists whom I have known. She read 6 books on widely differing subjects and submitted not the one required paper, but 3 separate papers; one on Ayurvedic and Chinese Medical Thinking, one on Homeopathy, and one on General care for her daughter and herself."
Frank Chilton, Ph.D.
Former Editor
Saturday Review of the Sciences

"I have known Tina for over 10 years. As a (former) psychology student, I remember learning in my child development classes that there are three types of mothers. There are those who immediately and instinctively form a warm and loving bond with their child. There are those who have a more difficult time but eventually succeed, and lastly those mothers who have great difficulty in forming this bond. As I watched Tina and her daughter, I thought here is an example of a mother who fits into the first group of mothers who really and truly know how to love and care for their children."
Dr. Doris Leit

"Tina, I was undoubtedly impressed by your efforts and the quality of your work."
Best Regards,
Dr. Susan Olson

"I have known Tina for about twenty years. She is very bright, capable and competent. Over time, I have watched her grow and mature, sometimes under very difficult circumstances. Her determination and ability to follow through allows her to make great strides in each area she places her focus upon. She sets personal and professional goals for herself, and attains them. She has the same integrity for providing for her daughter and has proven herself an excellent, loving and dedicated mother. Her daughter has developed skills and competence that support her to be a very warm and loving child, whose comfortable with herself, and others."
Dr. Beverly Kitaen Morse, Ph.D.
Integrative Body Psychotherapy
Executive Director IBP
Paternal Mom & Grandma

"Throughout my time (as a former senior medical student at UCLA), I had the opportunity to observe many mother-child relationships in both normal, as well as difficult circumstances. Tina is exceptionally loving, interested, well-informed, and a model parent."
Robert T. Fassett M.D.

"Tina is a self starter and really interested in the work she does. Her enthusiasm to learn and commitment to turn in quality work is well noted. She exceeded the basic requirement for this course in some areas, and is one of the best students this teacher has ever worked with in 30 years."
Stephen Rosen PH.D

"I have personally known Tina for over 30 years and throughout that time she has been a good friend.
I have seen her through difficult circumstances and have always been impressed by how she has managed to take adversity in stride, compensate for others shortcomings, and turn it to her benefit by making herself stronger and even more dedicated to be the best person she could be. I have seen her grow as an individual, wife, and mother, into the well rounded, self confident person she is today. As I look back on our friendship, I consider myself lucky to know her."
Valerie Walker
Friend

"Tina came to live with us when we were 3 & 6. She was like a big sister who helped take care of us.
While she lived with us, she went to school, had a job, helped our mom around the house, as well as cared for us. We enjoyed watching her become a successful model and grow as a person. She always found time to visit with us and spend special time together. She will always be a part of our family."
Alison Paige - UCLA Graduate
Lauren Paige - Berkeley Graduate

"I have known Tina for 18 years and have worked 1 - 3 days a week for her during that time. She is a very nice person and an easy person to get along with."
Miriam Morgan

"Tina was an active participant in the "pitching" of ideas."
Jeff Cole - Los Angeles Bureau Chief
KING WORLD PRODUCTIONS
INSIDE EDITION
AMERICAN JOURNAL

Tina's healing center is in Bel-Air and is conveniently located to:
Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Beverlywood, Brentwood, Century-City, Cheviot Hills, Culver City, Encino, Malibu, Marina Del Rey, Mar-Vista, Pacific Palisades, Playa Del Rey, Playa Vista, Sherman Oaks, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Santa Monica, Topanga, Venice... & beyond with accessable freeway access!

Zip Codes: 90024, 90077, 90209-13, 90034-35, 90049, 90067, 90064,90230-33, 91316,416,426,436, 91403,13,23, 90034-35, 90263,64,65, 90292, 90066, 90272, 90293-96, 90094, 90025, 90024, 90401-11, 90290, 90291,94.

FOR THE GREATER LOS ANGELES AREAS
West Hollywood, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Hollywood, Van Nuys, Reseda, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Westchester, Glendale, Beverly Crest, Rancho Park, Park La Brea, Hancock Park, Larchmont, Mid-Wilshire,... and More...

Copyright - LifeDr. TM, Life Dr. Inc. 2007: Tina Littlewood-Morse MA, MFT All Rights Reserved

TINA LITTLEWOOD-MORSE MA, MFT - IS A LIFE-STYLE & PERSONAL GROWTH EXPERT AND PSYCHOTHERAPIST WITH OVER 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE WELLNESS INDUSTRY. SHE HOLDS A MASTERS DEGREE IN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY, A MASTERS DEGREE IN SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PRESENTED AT CEDARS-SINAI HOSPITAL AS PART OF A TREATMENT TEAM IN THE OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT AND THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER THROUGHOUT HER ADVANCED TRAINING FELLOWSHIP.
TINA USES TRADITIONAL & UNIQUE (EASTERN & WESTERN) TREATMENT MODALITIES. YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HER AT http://WWW.LIFEDR.COM