Andrew Aytona, PsyD, LMFT

My journey into the mental health field began with treating adolescents and at-risk-youth that had been suffering from severe depression, anxiety, and a number of behavioral issues. This work, however challenging, has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my professional career as it allowed me to help teens that most people, and sometimes themselves, have given up on. I have been able to give hope back to those that have been hopeless and be there for them when they felt no one else was.

 

My experience in the field has brought me to work with diverse populations both in hospital and private practice settings. I have worked with individuals experiencing significant stressors and/or in high risk communities that have experienced so much distress that they required admission into a hospital setting for their safety and the safety of others.  This training has given me a broader perspective and more finessed skill in evaluation and treatment of the significant stressors many of us go through throughout our lifetime, i.e. the loss of a loved one, depression, anxiety, and life transitions.

 

Our prior experiences for better or worse make us who we are today, and perpetuates the helpful and unhelpful thoughts and behaviors we use to navigate our daily lives. My background in the hospital has exposed me to many severe issues, and now as a private practice therapist I have the ability to work with people before those issues become too much to endure. I have a passion to help and my goal is to try and leave the world a better place by improving the lives of people who will then positively affect the world.

 

It is my belief that therapy is both an art and a science. The mental health field has made great leaps in better understanding the way the mind works and how our emotional experiences can affect our biological functioning and vice versa; the science.  With these new discoveries we can develop insight into the thoughts and behaviors that result in our experience of distress and begin to make changes; the art. My experience in both the hospital and private practice setting have given me the opportunity to meld both the science and art of therapy to individualize treatment for each person.