About Joy Malek, M.S.

Professional Pic

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
License #MFC 47098
Founder/Owner, SoulFull

 

My primary way of working with healing and growth emerges from Depth Psychology, which calls our attention to the wisdom and meaning that lie below the surface of conscious awareness.

In addition, my 17 years of practice have included extensive training and experience in these models:

  • Psychodynamic: Understand the unconscious impact of your past on your present
  • Cognitive-behavioral: Learn to think differently in order to feel differently
  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Increase emotional regulation by acquiring coping skills, and learn to find the mindful middle path
  • Mindfulness: Fully participate in the present moment, practice radical acceptance, and learn how to sooth your own nervous system
  • Feminist & Multicultural: Understand the social, cultural, political and economic context that shapes you
  • Ecopsychology: Understanding ourselves as part of nature, and navigating the ecological systems that make up who we are and the environment we live in

I continue to weave aspects of these approaches into my work, as appropriate. If you are looking for a therapist who practices from one of these orientations, let me know your preferences, and we can collaborate to find the fit that’s right for you.

Therapy with Adolescents & Young Adults:

In addition to my work with adults, I specialize in empowering adolescents and emerging adults to dig deeper into times of challenge, loss or transition to discover what brings them fully alive. I work with young people and their parents to cultivate wisdom for healthy decision-making, foster self-respect for quality relationships, acquire skill in managing strong emotions, and develop a vision for a future that inspires them.

Experience

I spent the first five years of my career working in community mental health, helping clients to heal from patterns of addiction and domestic violence. In 2004, I joined the Institute for Girls’ Development in Pasadena, CA, and spent the next eight years there developing my clinical specialty of working with adolescent girls and adult women. I designed, launched, and coordinated the DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) program at the Institute and most recently served there as Clinical Director. Today I continue to partner with the Institute for Girls’ Development in offering SoulCollage® workshops for women.

Special Trainings & Certifications

I am a certified SoulCollage® Facilitator, trained by Seena Frost, founder of SoulCollage®. I have also received advanced training in Dream Tending, led by Dr. Stephen Aizenstat, chancellor of Pacifica Graduate Institute and founder of Dream Tending. My approach to working with the wisdom of the body emerges from these two traditions, as well as from the field of medical research on Mindfulness practices.