I am a licensed clinical psychologist in California (PSY27345) and New Mexico (PSY-2023-0020), a certified group psychotherapist (CGP), and provide psychotherapy via remote Tele-therapy. I also provide consultation for group and individual psychotherapy to therapists.
My approach to therapy is generally from a relational framework. I find that the exploration of our interpersonal relationships, including the relationship between the therapist and client, can be helpful in bringing our unconscious motivation to a conscious level, and overcoming internal conflicts we face in our daily lives. Furthermore, I believe psychotherapy is a collaborative process which brings something unique to each patient-therapist relationship. Working together, we can uncover your personal needs, and better understand how to acknowledge and express these needs in the safety of a therapeutic setting.
In the years that I have worked in the field of mental health I have gained experience with a wide range of emotional struggles and objectives, including attachment difficulties due to early traumas, addiction recovery, emotional dysregulation and mood instability, life adjustments, individuation, dissociation and psychosis. During this time, I have worked extensively with individuals with early trauma, as a result of abuse and neglect. I understand that many of us build protective/survival skills to avoid further painful experiences first learned in our early years. As we grow, these protections become maladaptive for adult relationships and begin to hinder our fulfillment in life. I work with you to build new, more adaptive skills. When ready, the safety of the therapeutic dyad allows for new behaviors to flourish, resulting in a deeper involvement in relationships and life.
A few specific areas of interests:
Cultural Identity
Many of us struggle between the desire for an individual identity, and the importance of keeping ties with deep familial and cultural roots. Exploring these internal conflicts can lead to deeper insight into the traumas of our ancestors and how they live within us generations later. If hidden from our consciousness, these generational struggles remain at the origin of our current problematic behaviors and feelings of internal stuckness.
Creative Process
I understand the creative process, and the difficulties which may come from collaborating with others. Themes of perfectionism, emotional regulation vs. appropriate expression of emotion, and the fear of making ourselves vulnerable arise in any co-creative endeavor. I enjoy working to enhance creative output and exploring unconscious emotional conflicts which hinder us from performing in our full capacity.
Group Psychotherapy
Group therapy can provide an environment for individuals to experiment putting thoughts and feelings into words as they surface. Within the safety of the private practice setting, group members are encouraged to pay attention to internal reactions toward others, which can so easily be avoided in day to day lives. This allows members to find a more genuine voice, and begin to shed fears of self-judgement. I have experience running both psycho-educational and process groups with adults and college-age individuals, and have been a participant in group therapy for several years.
I also perform clinical assessments with individuals involved in central nervous system (CNS) research programs. I began this work over a decade ago after completing my Masters in Psychology in 2004. I work primarily in mood disorder and psychosis research.
In 2017 I consulted with Anne Marie Cummings (and cast) on an episode of Conversations in L.A., an Emmy nominated web-series filmed in L.A. The series eloquently approaches aspects of life, and finding connection in Los Angeles. It engages viewers with a unique realism. Each episode is filmed in a single take, finding a balance between film and theater.
I provided the therapeutic consult on an episode portraying a couples therapy session with the two main characters. It's also shot in my old office!
Clinical Background
I have had the good fortune of training at the following internships and training institutions.
Saturday Center for Psychotherapy: Psychological Assistant/Therapist.
Long-term, depth psychotherapy at a low-fee clinic in Santa Monica, Ca.
Psychological Assistant: under Chet Wilson, PhD.
Private practice setting, long term psychotherapy with focus on addiction.
Emmons Health Center at Occidental College: Psychological Intern/Therapist.
Short term psychodynamic model of therapy with college-age population in the launching phase of life.
Westwood Counseling Center: Psychological Intern/Therapist.
Long term model of therapy at a community mental health clinic.
Clinical Research Experience
ProPhase: Remote Clinical Ratings / Rater Quality Control. http://prophase.com
Worldwide Clinical Trials: Remote Clinical Ratings.
Medavante, Inc: Senior Clinician / Remote Clinical Ratings. http://medavante.com
UCLA Semel Research Institute / West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Schizophrenia Outpatient Clinic: Clinical Research Assessment. http://www.semel.ucla.edu
Research Assessment Experience
Brief Psychotic Rating Scale (BPRS)
Clinical Global Impressions, Change/Severity (CGI-C/S)
Hamilton Depression Scale (HamD)
Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS
Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS)
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID)
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
Education
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles: Doctorate in Applied Clinical Psychology (PsyD). 2014
Pepperdine University: Masters of Psychology (M.A.). 2004
University of California at Santa Barbara: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (B.A.) / Music Minor. 2000
Publication
Peloian, J.H. (2014) Voices Subjective: Understanding the Experience of Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia (Doctoral Dissertation) . The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles, CA.
Peloian, J.H. & Pierre, J.M. Modafinil: A candidate for pharmacotherapy of negative symptoms in schizophrnenia. Progress in Nerotherapeutics and Neuropsychopharmacology. Cambridge University Press. 2008; 3:1: 259-274
Pierre, J.M., Peloian, J.H., Wirshing, D.A., Wirshing, W.C. & Marder, S.R. A double-blind placebo controlled trial of modafinil for schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2007; 68: 705-709.