About Psychotherapist Deva Segal

In the past, when people have asked me why I became a therapist, it’s been kinda…awkward.

Often I could feel myself fumbling for the right words. Truthfully, it’s a BIG question. Any person who chooses to become a therapist has an origin story that is inevitably very personal. For me, it was some combination of my spirituality, wanting to be in a life of service, and experiencing first hand how family trauma legacies get passed down.

The short answer is that I didn’t choose the game.

The game chose me.

As a kid, I found people’s inner worlds and relationships utterly fascinating. Having parents from different cultures helped me understand how to be flexible and aware of the unspoken influences on our choices. Pretty early on, I knew I wanted to be on a path that would use my gifts of intense curiosity and insights while challenging my own growth.

And thus my work began.

My fun times are spent listening to hip-hop, beating a drum, reading, dark chocolate, and petting ALL the animals that will let me. I may like cats and dogs equally, but I like pie slightly better than cake. My go-to karaoke is Montell Jordan. I dance with a little too much abandon – I try to remember to stretch.

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT

When you want change, the irony is the slower we unwind your thoughts and feelings, the more bang for your buck you get.

Therapy is a meditation on how your stories have shaped you and how you’d like to shape your story moving forward. My clients depend on me to keep it real with them and use my perspective in service to their healing. We’ll use the power of observation over self-judgment. We embrace stillness and warmth in the chaos, and then encourage action when the moment is right. We’ll laugh where we can, finding humor as medicine, even in dark moments.

My theoretical orientation is psychodynamic – a blend of Object Relations, Jungian, and somatic approaches. For couples therapy, I have advanced clinical training with both PACT and the Developmental Model. In addition to private practice, I’ve worked with children in low-income schools, elders in residential settings, and teens and their families in the juvenile justice system.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the states of California (#103816), Maine (#MF 7207), and South Carolina (#TLC 825 MFT). I am a Certified Sex Therapist with AASECT, and I am listed as a Kink Aware Professional with NCSF.

Professional Memberships:

In the past, when people have asked me why I became a therapist, it’s been kinda…awkward.

The short answer is that I didn’t choose the game.

The game chose me.

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT

When you want change, the irony is the slower we unwind your thoughts and feelings, the more bang for your buck you get.

Certifications

Trainings