Samuel Khanukayev, MFT 102145
psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Samuel Khanukayev, MFT 102145
Style of psychotherapy is insight and transformation oriented. I strive to facilitate a reflective and explorative environment where the unbearable can be held and truth can be spoken. Prospective clients can anticipate the collaborative work of deconstructing, analyzing, and working through psychological pain. We will utilize free-association, creative and intuitive thinking, reverie, dreams, metaphors, and attunement to somatic experiences during the clinical hour.
Theory and values… I believe that each subject is multidimensional and symbolically overdetermined, always already in the world of culture and language. Childhood experiences and the relationships with primary caregivers structure how we relate to ourselves and others. Unconscious repetitions of aversion, clinging, and reenactments of familiar/familial ways of being bind us in suffering. Through therapeutic work, rigid frames of being can be deconstructed and psychological space can be reclaimed for creativity, desire and becoming. Autonomy and truth are guiding principles in psychotherapeutic work. Diversity and difference is welcomed and honored.
Multicultural and bilingual elements of my identity, and a history of enduring ethnic discrimination and immigration, significantly inform how I listen to my clients, think through trauma and fragmentation with them.
The study of existential philosophy, Buddhism, Vedanta, and psychoanalytic theories has shaped the way I think about human experience, suffering, and transformation.
Since 2012, I've been practicing psychotherapy in outpatient settings and served individuals with diverse cultural, racial, and sexual identities.
The majority of my clinical experience focused on treating:
complex trauma
post traumatic stress disorder
personality disorders
anxiety
depression
substance dependency
loss and bereavement
interpersonal challenges
In addition to clinical work and education, I have experience with meditative practices and have training in mindfulness-based interventions. I utilize mindfulness and somatic awareness within individual and group therapy to cultivate greater capacity for introspection, insight, and affective tolerance.
It can be really challenging to find the right clinician and therapeutic approach to best match your needs and desires. You are welcome to call and ask questions. I would be happy to support you in this process of finding a good fit, whether it's with me or with another clinician.
Introductory consultation is free of charge.
License & Professional Affiliations
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist – LMFT 102145
Malpractice insurance with CPH and Associates.
Membership with San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis.
Membership with Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California.
Membership with California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.
Education & Training
Master of Arts in Counseling, Webster University, Irvine, CA.
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, CA.
2022 / 2023 SFCP Yearlong Program "Experiencing the Other: External, Internal, and Socio-Cultural"
2017 / 2018 Early Career Case Conference, Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, East Bay locations.
2016 / 2017 Applied Lacanian Thought in a Children’s Clinic, Lacanian School of Psychoanalysis, Berkeley, CA.
2012 - 2015 Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training and practice, Living Success Center, Costa Mesa, CA.
2013 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Center for Integrative Medicine, UC, Irvine.
2012 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine: A 7-Day Professional Training by Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, Omega Institute, Mt. Madonna, CA.
2008, 2011 & 2016 Vipassana Meditation ten day courses, S.N. Goenka, multiple sites in CA.