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Meet Our Team Gabriella Elise Giorgio Janelle Malak Marina Mendes Rachel Kwon Grace Chan Michael Hung Emily Gaston Bret Hansen Sharon Yu
 

Meet Bret Hansen

I am a gay man, former creative director, and lifelong artist whose path to therapy has been shaped by questions of identity, belonging, and reinvention. My own experiences with parental divorce, changing schools, early loss, and feeling different gave me a deep respect for the ways people adapt, protect themselves, seek connection, and build a sense of self.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent decades working in design, publishing, and branding, where my work centered on making complex ideas clear, useful, and emotionally meaningful. I became deeply interested in how people make sense of things: what helps them feel oriented, understood, and connected. I bring that same curiosity into therapy, helping clients organize the noise of their inner world and better understand what they need.

With a relational, experiential, and emotionally focused approach, I help people feel more grounded in who they are and more connected in their relationships. Clients often describe me as warm, thoughtful, grounded, and gently challenging.

I am an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist, 155624, supervised by Sharon Yu, LMFT, 50028. Trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and currently pursuing further certification, Level 1 Internal Family Systems (IFS), Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy, I support individuals and couples in understanding emotional patterns, navigating conflict, deepening intimacy, and building more authentic relationships with themselves and others.

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My clients want to feel more connected to themselves, more secure in their relationships, and more grounded in who they are.

My clients are often thoughtful, emotionally sensitive people who are trying to make sense of adulthood, relationships, identity questions, or uncertainty about the future. They may struggle with loneliness, self-doubt, people-pleasing, or a painful sense of being “behind” while everyone else seems to know how to live. Many want a deeper sense of belonging, but find themselves stuck in reactions they don’t fully understand: shutting down, over-explaining, pleasing others, pulling away, or becoming defensive. In therapy, we work to understand where these responses come from so they can relate to themselves and others with more choice, honesty, and connection.

My clients include queer and LGBTQ+ people who may be out and accepted now, but still carry the effects of having spent years hiding, managing, or minimizing parts of themselves. Many describe being “accepted” by their families, but acceptance is not the same as having your queerness delighted in, welcomed, and treated as a natural and beautiful part of who you are. The experience of being tolerated rather than fully celebrated can shape self-worth, intimacy, sexuality, and the ability to feel fully at home in oneself.

I also work with artists and other creatives who have often felt like outliers in their families, communities, or professional worlds. Creative people may choose lives that are less prescribed, less stable, and less easily understood by others. Therapy can help them take their inner life seriously, trust their creative instincts, and build relationships that support who they actually are.

 

Therapy with me is collaborative, emotionally engaged, and grounded in curiosity, compassion, and honesty. Together, we explore the emotional patterns, protective strategies, and relational experiences that may be keeping you feeling stuck, disconnected, or overwhelmed.

In our time together, you may begin to:

  • Develop greater self-compassion and emotional resilience

  • Feel more grounded in your identity, values, and purpose

  • Trust your uniqueness rather than organizing yourself around fitting in

  • Check in with your own needs and advocate for yourself more clearly

  • Understand patterns rooted in shame, fear, or self-protection

  • Build healthier boundaries while remaining emotionally open and connected

I believe healing happens through insight, emotional experience, safety, and genuine human connection. I am honored to support clients as they build a more compassionate and grounded relationship with themselves and the people around them.

Special welcome to LGBTQ+ clients, creatives, emotionally sensitive people, and adults navigating major life transitions.

Postgraduate degree in marriage and family therapy: Masters degree in Marriage & Family Therapy: Touro Worldwide University

Specialized training(s): Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and currently pursuing advanced certification, Level 1 Internal Family Systems (IFS/Parts Work), Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy, AEDP-informed therapy, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

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