Gretchen Mattox, LMFT, CSAT, CMAT CA License #86715
I founded Congruent Sea Psychotherapy to support alignment of the heart, mind, and soul purpose for people that desire sexual health and wellness in all areas of their lives. Simply put, congruency means being true to Self as well as being who we are and how we are, in every relationship. When it comes to sex our
bodies often carry an unspoken pact to illuminate old pain. I am the former Clinical Director at Psychotherapy Works, Inc., and received the following credentials: CSAT, CMAT, M.A. Psychology, Antioch University, M.A. Creative Writing, New York University, B.A. English, University of Colorado, and EMDRIA-approved (Eye
Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) trained. Originally from Denver, Colorado, I was educated in New York and Los Angeles. My training as a
clinician includes work at the Early Childhood Development Center in Santa Monica, CA, an extension of a program based at UCLA, the Southern California
Counseling Center, and with IITAP, International Institute for Trauma & Addiction Professionals.
I have lived in numerous places including Germany, London, Chicago, Nebraska, Seattle, New York, and Provincetown, Massachusett. My work as an artist, a writer, and educator all continue to contribute to my therapeutic approach. Compassion and gentleness are the cornerstones of this work so that the compartmentalized, abandoned self can begin to re-surface and thrive. Who we have been does not need to define who we become. I view addiction as a defensive mechanism meant to rather ineffectually and destructively numb pain. The neurobiological and genetic components of both substance and process addictions cannot be ignored but it is reductive to view them wholly through a behavioral prism.
Whether there are secrets you no longer want to carry or sexual acting out behaviors that leave a residue of self-loathing and shame once the hit wears off, there is hope.
"All of life and social constructs at large are already moving in tandem with a more wholistic approach to healing, whether through a consideration of the foods we eat, how we spend free time, what we want sexually, and for many a curiosity about meditation or at least a call to relax the nervous system."