Long-Term Psychodynamic Therapy
Achieve freedom by breaking the chains of your past.
Kenneth Skale, PSYD
My Approach
People enter therapy for many reasons, and one can easily begin to feel like a problem to be fixed; however, I believe there is value in coming to understand that your current struggles are the result of your best efforts to navigate through life. From this place of mindful acceptance, we can make sense of how your problems developed and help you work through them. Whether you wish to resolve the interference of past trauma in your daily life or break free of addictive behavior, healing begins when you courageously accept the responsibility to examine yourself and learn to meet your needs in healthy ways.
I practice long-term psychodynamic therapy, an approach that emphasizes trust, working in the here-and-now, and building a compassionate understanding of yourself. Therapy is essentially a series of honest conversations during which you actually feel and talk about your feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them. I believe enhancing personal wellbeing, improving relationships, and maintaining sobriety can be achieved when a person embarks on a courageous journey of self-exploration within a secure therapeutic relationship. I strive to empower my clients to make sense of their life stories; integrate uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and memories into awareness; and live more effective and meaningful lives.
Qualifications & Training
Education & Training
Dr. Skale is a licensed psychologist in the State of California and specializes in the treatment of addiction, personality disorders, and men’s issues. He graduated from San Diego State University (SDSU) with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Religious Studies before going on to earn his doctor of psychology degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) in Los Angeles.
Dr. Skale completed his predoctoral internship at Canyon Ridge Psychiatric Hospital in Chino and a two-year, postdoctoral fellowship at Rose City Counseling Center in Pasadena, where he received extensive training and supervision conducting long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Professional Involvement
In addition to Pasadena Healing Inc., Dr. Skale works as a contract psychologist at the Psychological Care & Healing Center (PCH) in San Marino, a sub-acute residential mental health facility, where he conducts group, individual, and family therapy. In addition, Dr. Skale is an adjunct faculty member at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology’s Marriage and Family Therapy Program. Dr. Skale served as President of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association (LACPA) in 2020, and he is an active member of LACPA’s Finance and Early Career Psychologist Committees.
Specialty Areas of Practice
My specialty areas of practice include addiction, personality disorders, and men's issues. I have accumulated significant experience, training, and independent study in these areas and feel confident I can facilitate meaningful progress and healing should you struggle with them.
In addition, I regularly treat both men and women with a variety of other conditions, including depression, anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, trauma, and suicidality.
Addiction
Many people consume alcohol, take prescription medication, play video games, and experiment with hard drugs, yet only a select few develop dependency. Indeed, the line separating healthy recreation and problematic use is often unclear. I treat addiction as an unhealthy, dependent relationship with one or more substances or behaviors. For these individuals, any substance or activity—from alcohol to heroin, video games to porn, running to steroids—can come to fill a void in the person’s life, making him/her feel complete or finally providing relief from emotional suffering.
Despite intense shame and tremendous consequence to careers, relationships, and personal health, the person can feel unable to live without his/her newfound substance/activity. Therefore, I believe achieving sobriety requires that we unmask the core emotional needs placated by addictive behavior, resolve intense shame in favor of cultivating self-compassion, and develop the courage and strategies to meet your emotional needs in healthy ways.
Personality Disorders
You may have heard terms such as narcissist used to describe one’s demanding boss or co-dependent used to denigrate a significant other. The term borderline is thrown around with striking regularity, often with the intention of invalidating the feelings of women or dismissing one’s partner when he/she feels lonely or upset. These mischaracterizations can be confused with real conditions known as personality disorders, which can lead people to feel ashamed of valid emotional, social, and psychological difficulties.
Perhaps you seem unable to form any lasting, meaningful relationships. Maybe you experience emotions much more intensely than others. It could be that you feel incapable of handling life’s challenges or even your own feelings independently, or perhaps you have very little idea who you really are. These challenges may reflect broad personality patterns that can prevent you from finding wellbeing and success in life. Resolving these issues, while difficult, is absolutely possible within the context of a secure therapeutic relationship. Together, we can understand you and your feelings more fully, work through the residue of painful life experiences, and help you live more authentically and effectively.
Men’s Issues
There are many unique struggles men encounter in modern life, and it is often difficult to find places to talk about problems without feeling judged. In addition to working through other mental health struggles, I am committed to helping men recognize and articulate their feelings honestly, embrace their masculinity, and find the courage to pursue their dreams.
Perhaps you regularly find yourself in the dreaded friend zone or have a less-than-satisfying relationship with your partner. Have you ever noticed yourself feeling unable to express your feelings or desires for fear of seeming weak or making your partner mad? By contrast, is becoming angry the only way you know how to express yourself? These and other problems experienced by many men coincide with depression, underachievement, and low relationship satisfaction. I work to help men acknowledge, articulate, and feel their emotions without judging themselves for having them. My goal is to empower men with the confidence to act and express themselves authentically, both in relationships and in service of their goals.