Flavia MacMenamin, AMFT
Somatic Therapist

West Los Angeles, California & Online

  • Couples, families & individual work

  • Somatic Experiencing, IFS, Psychodynamic

  • Previously in economic consulting in New York, parent, from Brazil

My specialities

I specialize in somatic and psychodynamic therapies that help individuals and couples better regulate their nervous systems, resolve conflict & strengthen emotional bonds.

I work with individuals on a range of issues including:

  • Relationship Struggles

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Grief

  • PTSD and Complex Trauma

  • Divorce 

  • Blended Family Challenges

  • Life and Career Transitions

  • Parenting 

  • Codependency

  • Pain and Health Anxiety

  • Immigration and Cultural Sensitivity

Therapy with me

I support individuals across a broad range of issues, including anxiety, depression, grief, relationship struggles and life transitions. I also work with couples and families to navigate conflict and create connection. I offer therapy in both English and Portuguese, and I strive to create an inclusive and affirming space for all clients.

Clients share that they feel safe, understood, and able to be themselves in our work together. I bring a calm, attentive presence and a deep respect for clients’ unique experiences. My approach to therapy is collaborative—I work together with the client to understand what’s not working and gently move toward meaningful change.

My background

Before becoming a therapist, I was an Economic Consultant, specializing in litigation support in New York and Los Angeles. In my free time, I enjoy being in nature, exploring new places, and spending quality time with my family.

My work integrates emotionally focused therapy, attachment science, depth psychology, and somatic awareness. When used together, these approaches help us understand not only clients’ current relational patterns, but also the early experiences and unconscious dynamics that shaped them. We explore emotions and attachment needs while also paying close attention to the body and nervous system, because lasting change happens through lived, felt experience, not insight alone. By supporting nervous system regulation and increasing awareness of how stress and trauma show up physically, we create the safety needed for deeper healing and more secure, connected ways of relating.

Training

  • MA, Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University

  • Certificate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program, Los Angeles Institute & Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS)

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples Certificate Program, The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT) - Currently Enrolled

  • Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training (SEP), Beg III - Currently enrolled in 3-year program

  • Psychodynamic supervision and training in Adult, Couples, Children and Families for 2 years, Maple Counseling in Los Angeles

  • MA, Economics from Clemson University

  • BS, Economics frfrom Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #146051
Supervised by: Steven Bradshaw, LMFT #136584

Treatment approach

Psychotherapy is a great tool to help you understand yourself at a deeper level, find purpose in your life, and address obstacles that are hindering you from reaching your goals. The result is a more integrated self, enabling you to achieve more satisfying ways to live and foster healthy and fulfilling relationships with people in your life.

In addition to my relational approach, I teach practices that support your nervous system to move toward regulation, or homeostatic balance. These practices teach you how to be with challenging sensations without bracing to allow energy to shift and release, rather than accumulating in your body. Over time, your window of tolerance expands so that your nervous system naturally spends more time in parasympathetic, or “rest and digest,” even as you move through the world .

In the process, I help you to unburden the original traumas that live on as hypersensitivity to threat. To do this, we need to meet and befriend the protective parts that over or under react to present situations. With more understanding and acceptance, these parts calm down and start to work together as a team, helping you to become more responsive and vital.

I help you build a personalized tool-kit to manage your symptoms going forward. When you stop fearing your symptoms they lose power over you and they begin to fade. Clients often report forgetting about symptoms as their life comes back into the foreground.

Somatic Therapy helps to discharge Survival Energy and Reduce Chronic Symptoms such as Pain & Discomfort

Services and fees

I offer in-person and online sessions for:

  • Individuals $200 (50-minute session)

  • Couples $250 (50-minute session)

  • Teens & Families $250 (50-minute session)