Meet Dr. Valerie Bellenger
Depth-oriented telehealth therapy for relationships and attachment in California
Dr. Valerie Bellenger, Psy.D.
Email: drvalerie@paradigmpsychologygroup.com
My clinical work centers on helping adults understand the deeper patterns shaping their relationships, sense of self, and capacity for intimacy and connection. I work with relationship difficulties, attachment wounds, trauma, anxiety, identity concerns, and life transitions, with a particular interest in the parts of ourselves that can be hard to acknowledge: the desires, fears, defenses, and contradictions that quietly shape how we experience ourselves and others.
My approach is depth-oriented, psychodynamic, and relational, informed by attachment theory, trauma-informed care, and DBT. Rather than treating symptoms simply as problems to eliminate, I am curious about what they may be communicating or protecting. My doctoral research explored the erotic shadow and its role in strengthening intimate relationships, and I approach conversations about sexuality, desire, relationship structures, and identity with curiosity and without judgment.
My experience spans private practice, telehealth, residential treatment, substance-use recovery, child and adolescent psychology, and forensic settings. Before psychology, I earned degrees in creative and critical writing from Middlesex University and the University of Sussex, then completed my doctorate in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. My style is warm, direct, curious, and collaborative. I believe therapy can be a chance not only to reduce distress, but to understand why you relate to yourself and others as you do, and to decide what you would like to carry forward and what you are ready to change. I am a Registered Psychological Associate #PSB94028636 practicing under the supervision of Dr. Kayla Bunderson.
I am currently accepting new clients.