About Us

Vanessa Blaxland, MA, Therapist is a Marriage and Family Therapist Registered Intern.  Her practice areas include individual, couples, family, and group therapy.  She has worked with diverse clientele and a range of client problems.  She has experience treating relational problems, mood disorders, addiction, anger management and some eating disorders.  Vanessa has a special interest working with young adults and young couples, helping them develop healthy relationships and creating independence, motivation, direction, and success.  Vanessa receives ongoing training from Elana Clark-Faler, LCSW, CSAT-S in the area of sex addiction.

Vanessa’s enjoyment working with young adults has led her to start 2 groups devoted to the population.  She has also been a guest speaker at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and Santa Monica College.  Her experience as a former collegiate athlete has also allowed her to further her work with local college athletic teams.

After graduating from the University of Hawaii, Manoa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Vanessa went on to complete a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Argosy University, Orange County.  At Argosy she did a significant amount of research in the area of couples therapy and infidelity.

Vanessa has trained in Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment and Group Therapy.  She believes in a collaborative approach to treatment, and highly encourages clients to participate and partner with therapists in the treatment planning process.  Pulling from Cognitive-Behavioral and Positive Psychology theories, Vanessa helps clients improve areas of their lives through teaching them how to change their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, focusing on their strengths, and psychoeducation.

Vanessa also works for Helpline Youth Counseling as a School-Based Mental Health Therapist and has previously worked at The Gary Center where she provided individual, couples, family, and group therapy to a variety of clients. She has also worked as an Early Childhood Interventionist and Behavior Therapist with children with developmental disorders.  Vanessa is a clinical member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (CAMFT) and the Group Psychotherapy Association of Los Angeles (GPALA).

You can find Vanessa Blaxland on www.psychologytoday.com, www.goodtherapy.org, or you can visit her website at www.vanessazamorano-blaxland.com.

Cindy Nigro, MA, is a Marriage and Family Therapist Registered Intern. Her practice areas include individual, couples, family, and group therapy. Cindy has experience treating relational problems, depression, anxiety, grief, addiction, trauma and mood disorders. She enjoys working with young adults, couples, and the LGBTQ community. Cindy receives ongoing training from Elana Clark-Faler, LCSW, CSAT-S in the area of sex addiction.

Cindy has trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Group Therapy. She believes that effective therapy provides a supportive space to deepen self-understanding, helps examine and experience emotions, assists with skillfully managing reactions to life circumstances, and aides with communication in relationships.

Cindy obtained a B.A. in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She then went on to complete a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Antioch University, Los Angeles.

Cindy has previously worked at the Center for Individual and Family Counseling, where she provided individual, couples and family therapy to a variety of clients. Cindy also works at Exodus Recovery Inc., a psychiatric urgent care center which provides comprehensive care by an interdisciplinary team of MD’s, Nurse Practitioners, R.N.’s and therapists.

Her professional affiliations and memberships include the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (CAMFT), and Group Psychotherapy Association of Los Angeles (GPALA).

Anna Stookey has over twenty years’ experience working with the mind and body, first as a massage therapist and now as a licensed psychotherapist with additional certifications in EMDR, medical and clinical hypnosis, and LAISPS certification in the treatment of eating disorders.

Anna works compassionately with trauma, bereavement and body and health issues, helping each client find a voice through their experience, as well as giving them the tools they need to make sense of and peace with their lives. Her unique bodymind system, The Truce Process, helps clients reconnect with their bodies through trauma, illness and struggles with body image and self-esteem.

Anna helps many young women find their way to their authentic selves, learning to identify what they feel and how to communicate what they want and need. Anna is also a respected couples therapist, helping couples move through infidelity, separation and challenging family relationships by listening to each individual’s needs and dreams in order to make the best choices moving forward.

In addition to working in the Beverly Hills office, Anna has taught classes and workshops with the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center, Holy Spirit Retreat Center, The Wellness Community and City of Hope Cancer Center as well as A&E Television and Lifetime Networks. She also consults with wellness centers throughout California, including the Pink Lotus Breast Center and WeSPARK.

Anna works with individuals, couples and groups; her current groups include a women’s support group, a chronic illness support group, and a group for people struggling with body image and eating disorders. Anna also has a second office in Larchmont Village. She frequently offers teleclasses and workshops for clients throughout the country and in southern California.

You can contact Anna directly at www.annastookey.com and www.bodymindguide.com.

Dr. Tracy R. Zemansky is a licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY21760), licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFC31536), and Clinical Sex Addiction Therapist, with a private practice in Santa Monica, California since 1992. She specializes in treatment of substance and process addictions (drugs/alcohol, food/exercise, sex, gambling, internet use/gaming, spending/shopping, shoplifting, self-mutilation), as well as trauma, grief and loss, violence, abuse, disfigurement, and cross-cultural issues. She also works with adolescent and adult sex offenders. Dr. Zemansky’s work is grounded in psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and family systems theories; she works with individuals of all ages, couples, families, and groups. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, an APA Accredited program. She has Master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology (Fielding Graduate University), Marriage and Family Therapy (Phillips Graduate Institute, Los Angeles, California), and Psychology-Philosophy (Academia Europea CRS-IDEA, Bergamo, Italy).

Dr. Zemansky provides psychological testing, assessment, and evaluations for both clinical and forensic purposes, and is known for her insightful, clear, user-friendly psychological reports. She is one of the only Los Angeles area Psychologists to offer Therapeutic Assessment, a collaborative process using psychological testing to help clients understand and take action in order to change areas where they feel stuck.

Dr. Zemansky is also recognized as an expert in working with impaired healthcare professionals, facilitating such groups since 1997. She is one of the founding members of Pacific Assistance Group (PAG), and its current President. Since 2008, PAG has been the largest, most comprehensive program for impaired healthcare providers in California, providing services in 13 cities. Dr. Zemansky runs Healthcare Professionals Groups in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. She frequently presents on addiction, ethics, and group psychotherapy; she consults in the United States and internationally on development and implementation of Intervention, Monitoring, and Short and Long-term Treatment Programs tailored for healthcare providers, other highly trained professionals, and high-profile individuals.

To learn more about Dr. Zemansky go to: www.drtracyzemansky.com

Lee Ann Teaney is a trauma specialist with over twenty years experience. As the Co-Founder of Cutting Edge Counseling, she is certified in both Somatic Experiencing and EEG Neurofeedback, cutting edge therapies that are based in neuroscience. These modalities in addition to relational talk therapy are central to her work.

She uses SE (Somatic Experiencing) for complex (also known as developmental) trauma and single incident trauma. Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a mind & body form of psychotherapy that can relieve and resolve the symptoms of anxiety, depression and fear. SE helps you tap into your body’s amazing ability to release physical tension and rebalance itself.

EEG Neurofeedback regulates and retrains the brain, helping it operate more efficiently and effectively. It can help clients recover from ADD/ADHD, insomnia, depression, anxiety, migraines, trauma, and alcohol & substance abuse (in conjunction with a 12-step program).

Lee Ann has a lifelong passion for self-development and healing. This is at the core of her work as a therapist. Highly intuitive and broadly trained, Lee Ann’s capacity to “get” her clients is one of the unique gifts she brings to the therapy room. She blends mind & body techniques with a liberating sense of humor.

Lee Ann is also known for her work with the LGBTQ community. She is a powerful role model and advocate. She leads a relationship group for Gay & Lesbian couples. You can contact her at www.cuttingedgecounseling.com or you can reach her at 310-915-5950.

Stephanie Koehler is a trauma specialist with over twenty five years experience. As the Co-Founder of Cutting Edge Counseling, she is certified in both EMDR and SE, cutting edge trauma therapies that are based in neuroscience. She weaves both these modalities into relational talk therapy.

She uses EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for single-incident traumas such as rape, violence, car and bike accidents, falls, invasive surgeries and natural disasters.

She uses SE (Somatic Experiencing) for complex (also known as developmental) traumas that develop when people grow up in stressed or dysfunctional families.

Skillful in mind & body techniques, her belief is that insight isn’t the goal of therapy – feeling better is. That is why she feels so strongly about going beyond talk therapy to include the deep brain where fight, flight and freeze, our responses to danger, reside.

Her clients find themselves leaving behind bad memories and restored to their natural resiliency. Symptoms such as sleeplessness, fear, anxiety, depression and reactivity drop away. They leave behind upsetting memories and get on with their lives.

Stephanie also leads a multi-generational growth group called “The Next 50 Years” for women who are addressing the issues of meaning, purpose, creativity and spirituality in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

Straightforward, wise, compassionate and full of life-affirming energy, Stephanie helps her clients make positive, sustainable changes in how they think, behave and feel.

A sought-after speaker, she has led workshops for Promises Treatment Centers, Clearview Treatment Programs, The Meadows, the Sexual Recovery Institute, The Soldiers Project, Women’s Association for Addiction Treatment, and the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.  You can contact Stephanie directly at www.cuttingedgecounseling.com or call her at 310-391-5851.