Angela Copeland, PsyD
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
~Lao Tzu
I have been working in the field of psychology for over 25 years. I am both a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Psychologist.
I became established here in San Diego from the Los Angeles area where I completed my training and schooling. The depth and range of my experience has progressively grown over the years. My early career started as a social worker with in-home foster care, expanding to in-office mental health therapy for children and family systems, and evolving into the treatment of individuals struggling with trauma, anxiety and depression. This has all led to the work with couples improving communication and safety in their relationships. I am inspired to utilize the training I have accumulated over the years and be of greater service to our community.
I completed certification of PACT level 1 & 2. PACT is a Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy created and taught by Stan Tatkin, Ph.D. in Los Angeles. PACT is a fusion of developmental neuroscience, attachment theory, and arousal regulation and is quickly gaining a reputation for treating the most challenging couples. I have a deep passion and respect for his work. Combining an education of how the brain functions with attachment theory while working with couples has brought results in my practice and moves couples toward secure, healthy attachments.
I am certified in EMDR. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro that emphasizes disturbing memories as the cause of psychopathology. It is used to help with the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR is a powerful technique to help traumatized patients move from fear and feeling stuck in their pain, into a position which allows space for change in order to move beyond their locked experiences. EMDR provides a structure to face fears and a reframing of beliefs about oneself.
I am trained in DBT, level 1& 2. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a specific type of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy developed in the late 1980s by psychologist Marsha M. Linehan to help better treat borderline personality disorder. Since its development, it has also been used for the treatment of other kinds of mental health disorders.
I provide groups on Mindfulness with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy addressing Anxiety. Developed within a coherent theoretical and philosophical framework, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a unique empirically based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility.
I also have the privilege of facilitating the psychological component of the Pain Management educational groups provided through the Sharp Rees-Stealy Rehabilitation Program.