“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive;
and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
— Maya Angelou
A Therapist For Women in Los Angeles, California, Illinois, New York, & Washington
My Mission
Well Woman Psychology aims to nurture, uplift, and empower women to cope with the unique issues they are facing. Allowing them to find their own voice amongst the narratives and expectations placed upon them by others. By doing so, I help women attune to what they truly need in order to
have healthy relationships with self and others and
overcome whatever barriers stand between them and their best selves. It is also my hope that my clients can translate this healing to make a positive impact on those in their lives. Creating a ripple effect of healing.
Dr. Linda Baggett, Ph.D
I am so glad you are here. It is vital for you to feel a strong fit and connection with your therapist in order for therapy to be as effective as possible. It is my hope that by sharing a bit about me, it will help you evaluate if I am a good fit for you.
I believe that you have been doing the very best you can with what you’ve been given and taught by your life experiences. This is even true for the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that you feel self-critical about and want to change. At some point, those behaviors, thoughts, and feelings were strategies that kept you safe and helped you get your needs met, even if imperfectly. And, I believe you will naturally do better when you are given the support and tools to do so. Being human is hard, but it is easier when you have someone in your corner to help you ascend to your best self.
I practice from an anti-racist, anti-oppression, weight-inclusive lens (see more in the Social Justice section below).
My Specialties As A Therapist
I am an experienced licensed psychologist specializing in women’s mental health and, particularly, on the issues that women struggle with the most:
reproductive health challenges
relationships (family, romantic, friendship, professional, etc.).
What really gets me excited is when I get to support women where these issues overlap, which is quite common given the immense pressure on women to have the perfect body, career, family, relationship, sex life, and emotional health.
As a therapist for women, I am warm, compassionate, authentic, and down to earth. Clients tell me I’m funny (when appropriate, of course) and keep telling me I need to make “merch” with my one-liners and catch phrases. Clients also say that my words resonate deeply and feel particularly validating. I’m often the first person they truly feel safe with to be vulnerable. I’m not judgmental and I strongly believe that everything you do, feel, say, and think makes perfect sense based on what you’ve been through, even if it’s ineffective now. You learned to be that way somewhere, and it helped you adapt and survive. I own my mistakes and work hard to practice the very skills I teach clients–we are all just doing the best we can. I view myself as the expert on psychology and you as the expert on you, and we partner together to achieve your vision for how you want your life to be.
Types of Treatment I Use
While research shows the relationship between therapist and client (and degree of fit) is most important to ensure good outcomes, I recognize that it is important for some to know what treatments I use and have been trained in. I integrate different treatments together to complement each other in service of each individual client’s goals, in an individually-tailored, collaboratively crafted treatment plan.
Body Trust: a weight-inclusive (meaning for all bodies) and social justice approach to help clients connect with self-trust, self-compassion, liberation, and repairing and healing their relationships with body and self.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): an umbrella term for all therapies that aim to change the way people are thinking and behaving to improve their emotional state. Includes the following:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): a mindfulness-based treatment that helps client’s learn to live with their unwanted thoughts/feelings (rather than fighting with them) and pursue their values despite them.
Prolonged Exposure (PE): an exposure based therapy to help client’s overcome fears and reduce avoidance.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): helps client’s learn to challenge their own unhelpful thoughts in order to improve emotional well-being and change behaviors.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): teaches client’s skills in mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal relationships to effectively pursue a life worth living.
Health at Every Size (HAES): a weight-neutral and weight-inclusive, social justice oriented approach that helps clients repair their relationships with their bodies, eating, and exercise, as well as pursue physical and emotional health, without any focus on weight.
Humanistic Psychology: assumes clients are doing the best they can with what they’ve got and that given the right support and validation, they can reach their full potential.
Emotion Focused Therapy for Individuals (EFIT): an attachment-based approach that helps clients unlearn unhelpful relationship patterns with themselves and others, and form secure connections with others and the self.
Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): helps client’s harness the natural healing abilities of their brains to process old wounds and get unstuck, especially where they know something to be true (i.e. that they are safe), but it doesn’t feel true.
Interpersonal Therapy: helps client’s solve problems in relationships in order to improve their lives and mood.
Mindfulness-based interventions: Helps clients learn to shift away from the past hurts or future worries and to the power of the present moment (the one moment we actually have control over).
Sex Therapy: therapy using the above interventions to specifically target sexual concerns.
How Did I Get Here As A Therapist Helping Women In Los Angeles?
I have been laser-focused on specializing in women’s mental health throughout my entire career. In fact, when I think about it, I’ve been exclusively on this path since high school, when I was the one my peers came to for advice about all things sex, puberty, and relationships. In college I was a psychology major, minoring in women’s studies and ethnic studies. While volunteering at the local rape crisis center and co-teaching human sexuality classes.
My Educational Road To Therapy
I went on to get my M.A. in Clinical Psychology where I continued teaching human sexuality courses, as well as the Psychology of Women class. Additionally, I began to conduct research on the relationship between body image and sexuality.
I went on to earn my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Memphis. During these years, I received extensive training working with trauma and PTSD as well as with women’s health issues. I conducted my dissertation on the impact of being sexually objectified on body image, sex, and self-esteem. I also did research on the impact of oppression on LGBT people, the impact of traditional masculinity on relationships, and other topics related to gender, sexuality, and relationships. The years after graduate school saw me building mental health programs focused on women’s issues, particularly women’s health and trauma, at various medical centers serving diverse and underserved populations.
Inspiration From Women In My Family
I think my own family history even informs my career. Both of my grandmothers were glass ceiling busting women in their own right. My paternal grandmother went to college to be a teacher and had to fight to be allowed to complete her student teaching while pregnant (oh the horror of children seeing a pregnant woman!). She was the first student to be allowed to do so at her college. And my maternal grandmother had her master’s degree in chemistry and worked on the precursor to birth control pills. Can you imagine being in STEM in the 40’s? I’m very proud of the example these two women set for me and also acknowledge the significant privilege it afforded me in pursuing my own path.
Social Justice & Ethical Responsibility
I am committed to honoring and supporting women’s many diverse identities and working to dismantle systems of oppression, as it is therapists’ ethical responsibility to do.
Social Justice
Well Woman Psychology is an anti-racist, queer and neurodivergance affirming, and fat positive intersectional psychology practice.
I practice intersectional feminism, which means I actively examine how clients’ different identities (such as race/ethnicity, age, disability, size, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity) intersect with their experiences as women. This includes their experiences of oppression. The goal is to truly understand a client's multilayered experience and best support them in coping with oppression in a way that works best for them.
Examining My Own Privileges & Perspectives
I assume clients are the experts on their experience and look to learn about them from them (as cultural groups aren’t a monolith). At the same time, I do not expect clients to educate me on issues related to social justice. I actively work to examine my own privileges and perspectives and root out places where the toxic air (racism, sexism, fatphobia, ableism, etc.) that we all breathe has taken hold. I also help clients do the same.
I actively work to create a safe space for all your experiences, I never assume I am the expert of your experience, and I genuinely want clients to tell me if I make a mistake. Feedback will be taken with gratitude and openness. Because I recognize that it is important for some clients to know, I can share that I identify as a White, cisgender, spiritual but not religious, 40’s, heterosexual, mid-fat (I use fat as a neutral descriptor) woman who has experienced disability (but not currently), occupying both privileged and oppressed identities.
Get Support From A Therapist For Women
Every woman has their own story and unique experiences that got them to where they are today. I want to work with you in therapy to build the life that you envision for yourself. To get started follow the following three steps.
Get support so you can embrace your authentic self
Online Therapy Services I Offer For Women in California, Illinois, New York, & Washington
Through online therapy, I provide support to anyone in California, Illinois, New York, and Washington. The mental health services I provide include body image therapy, sex therapy, and individual therapy for relationship issues. For women who have experienced trauma and social injustice, I provide EMDR therapy, trauma therapy, and PTSD treatment. Additionally, as a psychologist, I offer counseling for infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, and new moms. I look forward to working with you and supporting your mental health.