How I work · What informs my work
Approach, Education
& Training
How I approach therapy and the training I bring to it.
I offer a holistic, integrative, and experiential approach that engages the mind, body, spirit, and emotions. Our work is guided by your needs, your goals, and a pace that is comfortable for you.
The therapeutic relationship
What you can expect from me
Therapy is a sacred space where an individual, couple, or family can come as they are to experience healing grace in a time of need.
I want you to be able to speak honestly with me, including about the things that are difficult to say out loud. We’ll talk about what you want help with and what you hope will change.
My style is compassionate and direct. I am interested in getting beneath surface-level symptoms and repetitive patterns, while staying attentive to what feels manageable and meaningful for you.
“My desire is that you won’t just go to therapy, but that you would experience therapy.”
An integrative approach
The approaches I draw from
What helps one person may not help another. I draw from several approaches and work with you to figure out what’s useful.
Understanding the patterns
Psychodynamic approaches explore how earlier experiences shape present-day patterns. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) emphasizes experiencing underlying feelings, regulating anxiety, and recognizing the protective habits that can keep us stuck.
Meeting yourself with compassion
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps us understand the different parts of you—such as an inner critic, a protective part, or a hurt part—with curiosity and compassion. We explore what these parts are protecting and what they need.
Processing painful experiences
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) focuses on processing distressing memories and their associated emotions, beliefs, and body sensations. With careful preparation and pacing, we work toward reducing the hold those experiences have on the present.
Moving toward what matters
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes psychological flexibility: making room for difficult thoughts and feelings, staying connected to the present, and taking meaningful action guided by your values—even when discomfort is present.
Working with the whole person
Cognitive-behavioral approaches examine the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions. Somatic approaches attend to bodily sensations and regulation. My work is also polyvagal- and neuroscience-informed, with attention to how your nervous system responds to stress, safety, and connection. Spiritual exploration makes room for questions of meaning, faith, and belonging when these are important to you.
Reaching for connection
With couples, I take an integrative approach, with Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) serving as my primary framework. EFT emphasizes understanding the emotional cycle between partners and building a more secure, responsive bond.
In our work together
We’ll work out what helps you.
We’ll talk about what you need from therapy and how the sessions are going. If something feels too much or isn’t helping, I want you to tell me so we can adjust.
If working together doesn’t feel like the right fit, I’m happy to help you look for another therapist.
People come to see me for many reasons, including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, and painful experiences they’re still trying to understand. Whatever brings you here, we can talk about it and decide where to start.
A closer look at couples work
Building a more secure bond.
I am certified in David Mars’ Transformative Couples Therapy® (TCT) and have completed Level I of Stan Tatkin’s Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT). I have also received extensive training in Emotionally Focused Therapy.
EFT helps partners build secure, emotionally responsive, and lasting bonds.
Read my personalized approach to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (PDF) →
Learn more about EFT and its research
While no outcome can be guaranteed, research shows that 70–75% of couples move from distress to recovery, and about 90% experience significant improvement. You can learn more about EFT and its research base by visiting the International EFT website.
My education
Education & professional preparation.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences LMFT #85177
Alliant International University
(PsyD-Doctorate) Couple & Family Therapy
Alliance Graduate School of Counseling
(MA) Masters of Counseling
Drew Theological School
(MDiv.) Master of Divinity
Nyack College
(BS) Psychology
Additional training
Areas of Additional Training
- ACT For Beginners Certificate Course with Russ Harris
- Emotionally Focused Therapy For Individuals (EFIT) Level I Certificate Course
- The Doherty Approach to Couples Therapy
- Two Day Patricia Coughlin ISTDP Training
- Three Day Winter School- ISTDP Advances in the Science of Psychotherapy
- One Week Intensive- Henry Cloud & John Towsend (Authors of Boundaries)
- EFT (Emotional Focused Couple’s Therapy)
- 30hr Externship with Sue Johnson
- EFT Core Skills Completed
- EFT & Healing Affairs
- EFT Mastering First Sessions
- EFT & Transforming Shame
- EFFT- Transforming Families with EFT
- EFT and Interpersonal Violence Part I
- Domestic Violence Specialist-1 Certification Course (NAMA)
- ASIST Suicide Intervention 2-Day Navy Training
- Certified TCT Therapist (David Mars' Transformative Couples Therapy®. Formerly Known as AEDP For Couples).
- Coherence Therapy- Completed Dyadic Practicum
- Internal Family Systems Level 1–Trained Therapist (80hrs Completed)
- MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Center for Mindfulness
- Bioenergetics- Relational Somatic Psychology-Year-long Program
- Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) 8-Week Program
- Certified Discernment Counselor (For couples contemplating divorce)
- Certified Prepare/Enrich Counselor For Premarital Couples
- Attachment Focused EMDR Basic Training Completed (Part I, II, III) with Laurel Parnell
- PACT Level 1 Completed- Stan Tatkin's Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)
- Applying Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) with Couples Monthly 7-Session Series with Tami Chelew
- IFS 4 Month Online Intensive- Internal Family Systems Trauma Treatment Program with Frank Anderson
- Terry Real's Relational Life Therapy (RLT) Level One Training
- The Embody Lab 60-Hr Polyvagal Trauma Therapy Certificate Program
Clinical practice & teaching
Professional Experience
- United States Navy- Family Advocacy Support Specialist
- Kathryn de Bruin– Therapist Intern
- Alliant Couple and Family Clinic– Therapist Intern
- Adjunct Professor- Alliant International University
- Point Loma Nazerene University- Therapist Intern
- Adjunct Professor- Claremont School of Theology
- Nyack College- Therapist Intern
- Adjunct Professor- Nyack College- Learning Theory
- Adjunct Professor- Point Loma Nazarene University
Topics I speak about
Speaking and Workshops
- Freedom From Perfect(Shun)
- Hold Me Tight (2 or 3 Day Couples Workshop or Retreat)
- Attachment Theory & It’s intersection w Relationships/Spirituality
- The Power of Self-Compassion
- Guilt, Shame & Salvation (SOZO)
- StoryCatchers: Listening as a Way of Life
- The Lightning Bolt of Grief- The Grief Process After A Breakup
- The Power of Words
- The Psychology of the Dechurched
- Healing From Religious Trauma
- Understanding Sexual Addiction & Pathways to Recovery
- Forgive to Live: Releasing Ourselves from Resentment and Unforgiveness
Areas of Interest and Experience
The next step
Have a question about working together?
We can explore what you are looking for and whether my approach feels like a good fit.
619-786-6508
411 Camino Del Rio S., #200, San Diego Ca, 92108
Mark@MarkGregoryKarris.com