We offer comprehensive, evidence-based therapeutic services grounded in interpersonal neurobiology. All under one roof—so you don't have to coordinate care across multiple locations.
From children to adults, individuals to families—we meet you where you are.
Play therapy, OT, speech therapy, educational support, and assessments tailored to young minds.
Individual therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and personal growth.
Strengthen your relationships with connection-centered couples and family therapy.
Our multidisciplinary team brings together psychology, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and educational support—all grounded in the science of connection.
From play therapy to adolescent counseling, we help young people build resilience and connection.
Play therapy at CFC uses the natural language of children to help kids ages 3-12 process emotions, build resilience, and work through challenges. Our Registered Play Therapists create a safe, consistent relationship where children can express their inner world and grow.
Therapy for children and adolescents at CFC meets kids where they are developmentally, using relationship-centered, brain-informed approaches including CBT, DBT skills, and play-based methods tailored to each child's age and needs.
CFC's occupational therapy team provides brain-based, neuro-affirming OT across the lifespan, working in two full-sensory gyms at our Pasadena and Duarte locations. Our bottom-up approach starts with the nervous system: behavior is communication, and lasting change comes from building foundational skills rather than targeting surface behaviors. We work with sensory processing differences, fine and gross motor development, self-regulation, writing difficulties, and daily living skills. Our ABA-alternative model emphasizes relationship, identity, and genuine belonging. Services include full evaluations, sensori-motor evaluations, writing evaluations, and one-to-one treatment.
Speech and language therapy at the Center for Connection supports individuals of all ages who are navigating communication challenges. Our licensed Speech-Language Pathologists work with children from infancy through adulthood, addressing speech, language, social communication, feeding, literacy, and executive functioning. Our approach is relationship-based and regulation-driven, rooted in interpersonal neurobiology and guided by the belief that all behavior is communication. We partner closely with families to understand each client's unique constellation of strengths and vulnerabilities, building real communication capacity inside real relationships rather than pursuing skill acquisition through drill-based methods.
CFC's neurodiversity support is built on a genuinely affirming foundation: neurological differences are not problems to fix. Our ABA-alternative, relationship-first approach spans occupational therapy, mental health, speech and language, and psychological assessment. All disciplines share a core belief that behavior is communication, and that lasting support comes from understanding a person's nervous system and inner experience, not from training them to appear neurotypical. Our OT team's five explicit values (Identity, Accessibility, Inclusion, Advocacy, Connection) guide every interaction. We work with Autistic individuals, those with ADHD, sensory processing differences, learning differences, and adults with late diagnoses, across the lifespan.
Parent coaching at CFC helps parents develop practical strategies and a deeper understanding of their child's brain and behavior. Drawing on the frameworks of Tina Payne Bryson's work (The Whole-Brain Child, No-Drama Discipline, The Power of Showing Up) and the science of interpersonal neurobiology, our coaches help you move from reacting to responding. Sessions are individualized to your child, your family, and your specific questions. For parents of younger children, we also offer reflective parenting support, a specialized practice that helps parents become compassionate detectives, looking beneath the surface of behavior to understand what their child is expressing and how to co-regulate and connect.
Our therapists help adults navigate life's challenges with evidence-based, connection-focused approaches.
Individual therapy at CFC is a collaborative, relationship-centered process for adults seeking to understand themselves more deeply, work through difficult experiences, and create lasting change. Our therapists are guided by interpersonal neurobiology and draw from a range of evidence-based approaches tailored to each person.
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common reasons people seek therapy, and they show up differently across ages and life stages. At the Center for Connection, we approach both through a nervous system lens, understanding that symptoms are often signals from a body and brain working very hard to cope. Our therapists integrate somatic awareness, co-regulation, and evidence-based approaches to address not just symptoms but the underlying patterns driving them. We serve children, teens, and adults across our Pasadena and Santa Barbara locations.
Trauma disrupts the nervous system's ability to feel safe, and healing requires more than talking through what happened. At the Center for Connection, our trauma-informed therapists use EMDR, somatic experiencing, and polyvagal-informed approaches to help clients process both single-event and complex trauma. We work with adults, teens, and children, and we integrate across disciplines when nervous system regulation or sensory processing is part of the picture. We serve clients across our Pasadena, Duarte, and Santa Barbara locations.
Major life transitions, whether chosen or not, involve more than a change in circumstances. They involve a shift in identity, and that shift can bring grief, anxiety, and disorientation alongside whatever hope is present. At the Center for Connection, we offer a space to process what's changing, grieve what's ending, and begin to orient toward what comes next. We work with adults, teens, and young adults navigating transitions across our Pasadena, Duarte, and Santa Barbara locations.
The perinatal period, spanning pregnancy through the early years of parenthood, is one of the most demanding neurobiological transitions a person can experience. Postpartum depression, anxiety, birth trauma, and the complex emotional and relational shifts of new parenthood affect both birthing and non-birthing parents and are significantly under-recognized. At the Center for Connection, we offer compassionate, nervous system-informed support for individuals and families navigating this season. We serve clients across our Pasadena and Santa Barbara locations.
Grief extends well beyond bereavement. It lives inside many kinds of loss: relationship endings, diagnosis, pregnancy loss, ambiguous loss, and the life someone thought they were going to have. At the Center for Connection, we believe grief is not a problem to be solved but an experience to be accompanied. Our therapists work with adults, children, and families using a nervous system-informed, relationally grounded approach. We also support children using play therapy and work with parents to help them understand how grief shows up differently in kids. We serve clients across Pasadena, Duarte, and Santa Barbara.
Strengthening the relationships that matter most through connection-based therapeutic approaches.
Couples therapy at CFC is a relationship-centered, Gottman-informed process that helps partners understand their patterns, communicate more honestly, and deepen their connection. We work with couples at all stages, from early partnership to long-term relationships in need of repair.
Family therapy at CFC addresses the relational dynamics that shape how families communicate, connect, and navigate challenges together. We work with the whole system, not just the individual, to help families build healthier patterns and stronger bonds.
Comprehensive evaluations to understand strengths, challenges, and create a clear path forward.
Psychological and neuropsychological evaluations at the Center for Connection go far beyond identifying a diagnosis. Our team of specialized psychologists and neuropsychologists conducts thorough, individualized assessments for children, adolescents, and adults, drawing on clinical interviews, standardized measures, behavioral observations, and multi-informant input. Guided by interpersonal neurobiology, we peel back the layers to understand each person's unique constellation of strengths, challenges, and vulnerabilities. The result is not just a report but a roadmap of specific, prioritized recommendations that help individuals and families move forward with clarity and confidence.
ADHD evaluations at the Center for Connection go well beyond a checklist. Our psychologists conduct thorough, individualized assessments that examine attention, executive functioning, working memory, processing speed, emotional regulation, and the full range of conditions that can co-occur with ADHD including anxiety, learning disabilities, and mood concerns. We draw on clinical interviews, standardized cognitive testing, behavioral rating scales from multiple informants, and direct observation to develop a complete picture of each individual's brain. The evaluation concludes with a plain-language feedback session and a written report that includes a roadmap of prioritized recommendations for home, school or work, and any therapeutic supports.
Autism evaluations at the Center for Connection are neurodiversity-affirming assessments designed to illuminate each individual's unique neurological profile, not simply to confirm or rule out a label. Our psychologists use gold-standard tools including the ADOS-2, alongside developmental history interviews, standardized cognitive and adaptive measures, and multi-informant rating scales to develop a thorough understanding of each person. We evaluate children, adolescents, and adults, including individuals with subtler or historically under-identified autism profiles such as those in girls and women, people of color, and those with PDA profiles. The evaluation concludes with a plain-language feedback session and a written report with a clear roadmap of prioritized recommendations.
Learning disability evaluations at the Center for Connection are thorough, strengths-based assessments for children, adolescents, and adults who have struggled academically or with specific processing tasks. Our psychologists assess for dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, language and auditory processing disorders, visual processing differences, and nonverbal learning disabilities, along with the ADHD and anxiety profiles that frequently co-occur. Evaluations draw on cognitive assessment, academic achievement testing, phonological and language processing measures, and multi-informant input. The process concludes with a plain-language feedback session and a written report that serves as a roadmap of prioritized recommendations, including documentation suitable for school IEP or 504 accommodation requests.
Our Duarte campus specializes in supporting neurodivergent individuals and families. We celebrate neurological differences and provide tailored support that honors each person's unique brain.
A non-invasive, evidence-based listening therapy designed to calm the nervous system and enhance social engagement. Based on Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory.
Training and certifications for mental health professionals who want to bring connection-centered, play-based approaches to their practice.
Every service we offer is rooted in interpersonal neurobiology—the science of how relationships shape our brains. This isn't just theory; it's the foundation of Dr. Tina Payne Bryson's bestselling books and over 20 years of research.
We prioritize the therapeutic relationship as the vehicle for change.
We see the full picture—mind, body, relationships, and environment.
Our practitioners work together to coordinate your care seamlessly.
"When we change the way we respond to our kids, we literally change the structure of their brain."
Fill out our brief intake form and our team will be in touch within 24 hours to help you find the right services for your needs.
Choose the path that fits your needs. We'll guide you from there.