Katherine (Kate) DellaFera, LCSW
#123322
ADDRESS
402 S. Marengo Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101
PHONE NUMBER
(323) 524-8354
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Site by Melinda May
Branding by Mallory Anita
Men's therapy in Los Angeles and Pasadena
You function well. You show up. By most external measures, you are doing fine. But something keeps going sideways, and you cannot quite name what it is or why it keeps happening.
ABOUT ME
I received my Masters in Social Work from University of Southern California, and my Bachelor’s Degree in Individualized Study from New York University. I have a diverse background that informs my psychotherapy work, from my first career in the music industry, to a lifelong yoga practice. As a social worker, I am trained to consider all aspects of your experience, from your environment
My experience in social work and psychotherapy began on Skid Row where I worked with the unhoused community and began my training in trauma work. I then went on to continue my practice at Pasadena Trauma Therapy where I was extensively trained in working with CPTSD and dissociation. As a queer therapist, I deeply enjoy working with fellow queer individuals that have trauma backgrounds. I have supported folks through anxiety, depression, PTSD/CPTSD, life changes, attachment issues, boundary struggles, nervous system dysregulation, relationship and intimacy issues, and more.
I am a native New Yorker who is now happy to call Los Angeles home. In my spare time, I enjoy practicing yoga, cooking, and exploring the beautiful nature that California has to offer. I feel honored to do this work and witness my clients in moments of vulnerability and transformation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you are curious about how we might work together.
ABOUT ME
EDUCATION
University of Southern California, MSW, Social Work
New York University, BA, Individualized Study (Music & Culture)
TRAINING
Trauma Resiliency Model Levels (TRM) - Trauma Resource Institute
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) - The Institute of Creative Mindfulness
Brainspotting (Phase 1) - Pacific Brainspotting
300 Hour Yoga Teacher & Meditation Training - Yogala Studios, Los Angeles
"I am not sure anything is actually wrong. I just cannot seem to get it right."
A lot of the men I work with are not sure they belong in therapy. They come in skeptical, or because someone they love asked them to, or because they have run out of other explanations. That is fine. Skepticism is welcome here.
What they tend to share is a version of this: things are not terrible, but there is a persistent gap between how they want to show up in relationships, at work, in their own lives, and how they actually show up. They know the gap is there. They do not know how to close it.
Sometimes there is anger that comes out sideways. Sometimes there is a numbness that is hard to explain. Sometimes the people closest to them feel far away even when they are in the same room.
WHAT THERAPY FOR MEN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE HERE
I work with men on the relational and emotional patterns that are getting in the way, without a program or a script. The work is direct, grounded, and moves at a pace that makes sense for you.
I use approaches that go beyond talk, including EMDR, Brainspotting, and Internal Family Systems, because a lot of what we are working with was learned before language and is not easily reached by conversation alone.
I am not here to fix you or tell you how to be. I am here to help you understand what is actually happening and give you more room to choose differently.
How I Work
I am Kate DellaFera, a licensed clinical social worker in Pasadena. My background is in trauma, with training on Skid Row and specialization in complex PTSD and dissociation. I work with men navigating relational trauma, emotional avoidance, and the patterns that show up long after the original circumstances have changed.
I am queer, which means I am also comfortable with men across a range of identities, relationship structures, and backgrounds. I do not bring assumptions about what your life is supposed to look like.
I see clients in person in Pasadena and online throughout California. The free 15-minute consultation is a good place to start, including if you are not sure therapy is for you.
What Nobody Called Trauma
Nobody ever called what you went through trauma. Maybe nothing dramatic happened. Maybe you just learned early on that certain feelings were not available to you. That needing things made you a burden. That the way to be okay was to handle it yourself and keep moving.
That is not nothing. That is exactly the kind of thing that shows up decades later in ways that are hard to explain. In relationships that start well and then hit the same wall. In the distance that opens up when things get emotionally intense. In the feeling of being present but not quite there.
Complex trauma does not always come from a single event. Often it comes from an environment, from what was consistently absent rather than what dramatically happened. And it tends to show up most clearly in intimate relationships, where the old wiring gets activated whether you want it to or not.