Encino Psychotherapist

Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T.

Psychotherapy

Ms. Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T. is a Psychotherapist specializing in Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Adults and Adolescents as well as Psycho-Oncology. She has graduated from Cal State Northridge with a BA in Psychology and has earned her Master's degree in Psychology from Antioch University. She is in private practice for 29 years. Barbara Brighton's professional accomplishments have earned her 'excellent reputation. She has achieved acclaim while working with many cancer patients and their families helping them to cope with the disease and successfully overcome it. Her reputation proceeds her in other areas of her work as well. She’s renowned not just for being a psychotherapist but for being a TALENTED psychotherapist which is exceedingly rare.

Speaking of her work Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T. said in an interview: "When you open yourself in therapy, many aspects of your life are affected. I use the metaphor that as you go through life you throw things that you don’t want to deal with in a closet and shut the door. You keep throwing things in the closet and eventually it is so full that the door doesn’t want to shut so you have to lean on the door all the time to keep everything from falling out. This can cause stress, anxiety, depression and more. You expend so much energy making sure you keep that door closed that you don’t have anything left for your life. Part of what we do in therapy is to gently and slowly open up that door. We take things out and look at them and decide where they fit in your life. This can be a very painful process, but not as scary as you might think it would be. You can live through it. You find your truth and your humanity and you have the opportunity to have a relationship with yourself that is loving.

Often people come to therapy to talk about their relationships and the problems within those relationships. Although it is reasonable to address those issues, my approach is to focus equally on the relationship you have with yourself. How would you describe that relationship? Is it abusive, loving, critical? Do you honestly look at what is going on in your life? When you heal the relationship you have with yourself, you have a much better chance of having successful relationships with others. When you get to that place it might mean that you will choose to let people go who aren’t supporting your emotional health, and deepen the relationships that enrich your life."

Barbara J. Brighton, M.A., M.F.C.T.

16055 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 1010 in Encino

Phone: (818)905-4692

E-Mail: bjbjazz@earthlink.net