Clinical Psychologist · California
Therapy for capable adults who look fine from the outside and privately keep running into the same intense emotions, the same relationship endings, the same standards that never let up. I will not ask you to positive-think your way past patterns that took years to form. Warm, direct, collaborative work that pairs real insight with practical tools.
Who I Work With
Mara
The first three months are electric. Then a shorter reply, an evening they want to themselves, and you are back reading tone, going quiet, saying the sharpest true thing you know. By morning you can narrate the whole sequence — which has never once stopped it from happening next time. You want to know why it keeps ending in the same place.
Daniel
Everyone describes you as steady. You absorb other people's stress and answer every message within the hour. What nobody sees is the twenty minutes in the parked car before you can walk into your own house, or that the work you built your life around now produces nothing at all. You are not in crisis. That is precisely why this has been on the list for two years.
Priya
A tone in a meeting, a plan changed at short notice — and it lands enormous. Four hours later you are still recovering while everyone else has moved on. You have learned to keep the size of it hidden, because the last few times you did not, the response made it worse. You would like to find out what your emotions have actually been trying to tell you.
These are fictitious names and scenarios used only to illustrate real-life situations.
Starting
Step 1
We talk briefly about what brings you here, what you have already tried, and what you want to be different. You can ask direct questions. I will be equally direct about whether my experience and approach fit what you need.
Start Here
Choose whichever one is closest. Most people arrive with two or three of these tangled together.
About
Specialties
In A Client's Words
I feel truly blessed to have been introduced to Dr. Payne right after our home was incinerated in the January 2025 Palisades Fire. Losing everything in that tragedy left me and my wife carrying an immense weight of trauma, and her presence during that time made a profound difference.
Dr. Payne has a rare gift for listening with genuine compassion and offering insights that ease the burden of grief and anxiety. Even in simple conversations, she creates a sense of safety and understanding that helps you feel less alone in your struggles. Her warmth, kindness, and professional expertise shine through in every interaction.
I am deeply grateful for the support she provided during one of the most difficult chapters of my life. Anyone who has the opportunity to work with Dr. Payne will be in the hands of a truly caring and exceptional psychologist.
Sessions
Anywhere in California
Neither option is the better one. Some people start with telehealth and move to the office; others do the reverse. We can decide on the consultation call and change it whenever it stops fitting.
Work With Me
Free Consultation
The first step is a free consultation call. We talk about what brings you here, what you have already tried, and whether working together makes sense. If I am not the right fit, I will say so and point you somewhere better.
Or call the office at (213) 761-8555.
