Our Team
Mollie Pollaro (she/her) MEd, AMFT #136943
Training and Areas of Focus
It is my deep honor to collaborate with Gali Barak and be a part of her practice. I am an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. I completed my clinical traineeship at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Long Beach. My areas of interest include: disordered eating, anxiety, grief, life transitions, relationship issues, addiction, social justice, spirituality, self-esteem, and self-compassion. I work in a collaborative style informed by postmodern therapies.
My Perspective and Approach
“When you believe the problem is inside you, then you don’t question the status quo” (Lakshmin). I believe our relationship to ourselves is one of the most important relationships we have. And I believe it is very difficult to be hopeful, happy, and inspired if we believe we are the problem. Supporting clients in disentangling themselves from ways of being that feel painful, uncomfortable, and draining lies at the heart of my practice. When we can understand our lived experience and the meaning we have assigned to it, then we have more capacity to heal and realize the changes we desire.
Whether or not we are tapping into our inner wisdom, I regard each of us as the experts of our own lived experience. Collaborating with clients to develop the skills, resources, and support to reclaim this wisdom is an integral component of my therapeutic style. My steadfast intention is to collaborate with clients to richly explore their hopes for healing and growth as well as to evaluate what may be challenging their access to such change. I hold tremendous hope for each of my clients that change is real and entirely possible.