Healing Starts Within
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Healing Starts Within ✱
The Therapist
Hi, I am Margot.
My path into this work did not begin with a title. It began with a deep and personal curiosity about people, emotions, and what it really takes to heal, grow and thrive.
Long before I became a trained therapist, I was already paying attention. I noticed how people carry things they do not always speak about. I noticed how strength can exist alongside struggle. And I became interested in understanding how we find our way back to a sense of balance.
That curiosity stayed with me and slowly shaped the direction of my life. It led me to study, to train, and to build a way of working that supports not just coping, but real and lasting change.
The Team
Derek Siegel, MA,
AMFT #162972
Derek approaches therapy with genuine curiosity and a desire to understand the person sitting across from him. He sees therapy as a collaborative process where the therapist and client are fellow travelers exploring what direction feels most meaningful to them.
His style is warm, thoughtful, and direct. Derek works to create a space where people feel safe enough to be honest about their inner world. As trust develops, he helps clients explore patterns that may no longer serve them, even if those patterns once helped them survive. The goal is not simply to analyze problems, but to help people understand themselves more fully and move toward a life that feels more authentic and aligned. While much of therapy involves reflection, Derek believes it should also feel human. When the moment is right, humor and lightness can be just as healing as insight.
Derek’s approach is primarily psychodynamic and meaning oriented, while also drawing from existential psychotherapy and practical techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT). He works with individuals from diverse backgrounds and identities, with particular focus on men’s mental health, couples counseling, and trauma and PTSD.
Clients often describe Derek’s therapy space as warm, safe, and grounded, a place where they can begin exploring difficult parts of their lives without feeling alone.
Sari Tracht, MA,
AMFT #139351
I became a therapist because I know what it feels like to carry things that are hard to name. The quiet ache of never quite feeling like you belong, the exhaustion of relationships that take more than they give, and the long, winding path toward understanding yourself. That personal journey didn't just bring me to this work; it shaped the kind of therapist I am.
I work with people navigating the complexity of relationships, family wounds, and the patterns we inherit long before we have words for them. Whether you're untangling dynamics from your family of origin, finding your footing after loss or disconnection, or trying to understand why the same painful cycles keep showing up, I'm here to help you make sense of it, at your own pace, without judgment.
If you've ever felt like you were born with a little more volume than the world knew what to do with, highly sensitive, wired differently, carrying a few extra letters of the alphabet (ADHD, HSP, OCD, PTSD...you know who you are), you're in the right place.
My approach is relational and trauma-informed, and I draw on a range of evidence-based frameworks to meet each person where they are. I'm deeply fascinated by the intersection of neuroscience and psychology and how our nervous systems, our early experiences, and even our brain chemistry shape the stories we tell about ourselves and the world. Understanding the "why" behind how we feel and respond can be one of the most liberating parts of the healing process. I believe healing rarely happens in isolation, and that the natural world, animals, and our connection to living things can be powerful doorways back to ourselves. I have a deep interest in equine-assisted and animal-assisted psychotherapy, and I weave that perspective into the way I think about what helps people heal.
I've also been shaped by my own participation in 12-step community work, which gave me a profound respect for the courage it takes to be honest, to show up, and to ask for help.
I won't pretend therapy has to be heavy all the time. Laughter is one of the most underrated tools in the room, and sometimes the most honest thing two people can share is a well-timed moment of levity. I bring warmth and humor into the work when it fits, because real connection rarely looks like sitting in silence with a box of tissues (though there's a time for that too).
My practice is rooted in Los Angeles, and I work with people who are ready, or almost ready, to do something different.
If any of this resonates, I'd love to connect
A Different Kind of Change
Change does not always come from pushing harder.
Sometimes it comes from slowing down, paying attention, and understanding yourself in a new way.
When that happens, things begin to shift naturally.
You do not need to have everything figured out before you begin.
If something in you is ready for change, even in a small way, that is enough.
