ABOUT
PHILOSOPHY
and approach
Dr. Weiss is recognized in her field and by her clients for providing empathetic, results-driven psychotherapy and careful and comprehensive psychodiagnostic evaluations that get to the correct diagnosis the first time. Dr. Weiss’s approach stems from her belief that optimal results come from working collaboratively with clients, families, teachers, and other treating professionals to generate treatment plans appropriately tailored to individual clients. No two clients are alike, and no two issues are the same. Likewise, Dr. Weiss believes that there are no shortcuts to accurate psychodiagnosis. Dr. Weiss spends several days with each client and always observes elementary school clients in classroom settings. She takes the time necessary to investigate and understand each client’s learning styles, social and emotional factors, and academic challenges. That’s why leading academic institutions across Los Angeles and elsewhere trust and rely on Dr. Weiss’s recommendations. For the past 20 years, Dr. Weiss has successfully applied this approach to help clients realize their cognitive potential and overcome seemingly intractable challenges, including anxiety, perfectionism, depression, ADHD, autism, executive-functioning challenges, self-esteem issues, life transitions, and overwhelming academic stress.
BACKGROUND
and training
Dr. Weiss has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP), a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston College, and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from CSPP. She received her undergraduate degree from Boston University, where she graduated cum laude with distinction. Dr. Weiss is also a proud graduate of the Harvard-Westlake School. By virtue of this experience, Dr. Weiss brings a first-hand understanding to the academic pressures many of her clients face in private preparatory schools. Dr. Weiss has worked with hundreds of students enrolled in both Los Angeles private and public schools.
Dr. Weiss’s clinical training and experience includes providing therapy for children and families, running parenting groups for parents of teens, leading teen groups in high schools, providing individual therapy in an elementary school, providing individual therapy and community outreach at Wheaton College Counseling Center in Massachusetts, leading a teen girls group in a private practice, and a pre-doctoral internship in an inpatient psychiatric hospital where she treated children, teens, and adults. She also conducted psychoeducational testing in a college learning resource center. Dr. Weiss’ doctoral dissertation on relational aggression in girls was selected for presentation at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention, a rare honor given to a select few researchers. While completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Weiss gained extensive experience conducting psychodiagnostic evaluations of students with ADHD, autism, and other learning challenges, including so-called “twice exceptional” clients.
Outside of clinical practice, Dr. Weiss is active in both professional and non-profit organizations. She served as president of the California Psychological Association of Graduate Students (CPAGS) while also serving on the Board of Directors for the California Psychological Association. At present, Dr. Weiss serves on the Board of Directors for Builder Bees, a non-profit organization that provides programming for girls of all abilities, and on the Advisory Board of the Well Baby Center , a nonprofit parenting and counseling center. Dr. Weiss also enjoys mentoring students at her alma mater, the Harvard-Westlake School.
In her free time, Dr. Weiss enjoys doing art projects with her two young children, building Legos with her daughter, knitting, playing soccer with her son, traveling with her husband, and baking. She also enjoys spending time with her shih-tzu, Lucy, who occasionally accompanies her to the office.
Bianca Berzner has her masters in clinical psychology and is a Registered Associate
Marriage & Family Therapist (#AMFT118659), supervised by Dr. Dorie Weiss (#PSY22224). For many years, Bianca passionately worked as a Child Behavior Specialist for children with developmental delays and disorders both in the school and
home settings with compassion and patience. As a psychotherapist, Bianca continues to work with children, families, and individual adults in her practice through a developmental, humanistic lens. She factors in the biology, psychology, and sociology
surrounding her clients and their unique gifts and challenges. Bianca incorporates
mindfulness-based, cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and family systems models into treatment with a strengths-based lens. With extensive training in and personal experience with the mind-body connection, Bianca shares empathy, curiosity, humor, and her light-hearted nature. Her goal is helping clients understand themselves and how to attend to their needs so that they are regulated, thinking clearly, making choices they are proud of, and feeling their best selves in relationship with others. Bianca enjoys journeying with her clients on their paths toward self-awareness, self-compassion, and joy by providing them liberating and life-changing tools. She has a background in teaching art to children, is a certified yoga instructor, and a proud alum of Los Angeles based local schools: Curtis, Crossroads, USC, and Antioch. In addition to her love of yoga and art, Bianca is passionate about traveling and cooking with her husband, spending time with her family, and cuddling her two Yorkies, Gigi & Zoey.
Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (#AMFT118659)
Supervised by Dr. Dorie Weiss (#PSY22224)
213.640.9216
12401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Kathleen Flaherty is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) who utilizes a client-centered relational approach to meet each individual’s present needs. She views therapy as a collaborative forum for self-exploration and personal discovery to alleviate uneasiness, develop self-compassion, and examine values and patterns that may serve or block one from living a life of fulfillment. Your story is your own; Kathleen will listen with compassion and curiosity to assist you in bringing awareness to areas for constructive growth. Utilizing attachment, cognitive behavioral, and mindfulness techniques, Kathleen will align and support you along your unique journey.
Kathleen studied Psychology as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and continued her education at Pepperdine University earning a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Working in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Kathleen has a decade of experience working with neurodiverse children and families in the clinical, home, and school settings. Kathleen’s warm demeanor and open mind helps her connect with young clients to aid them in developing emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and self-regulation skills. Through her training at the renowned Southern California Counseling Center, she has developed an adept awareness to how our relationships, culture, and community affiliations influence mental health and well-being. She is formally trained as a yoga instructor and in utilizing somatic intervention techniques including Community Resiliency Model (CRM) and Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM). Kathleen believes healing takes place holistically on a somatic, emotional, social, and spiritual level, and is committed to help you explore each dimension as it relates to you.
Kathleen currently works with adult, child, and adolescent individuals, as well as couples and families.
Registered Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (#AMFT121463)
Supervised by Dr. Dorie Weiss (#PSY22224)
323.391.4179
12401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90025
CANDICE HANNANI
Registered Psychological Associate
Dr. Candice Hannani is a registered psychological associate with extensive training in providing neuropsychological testing and psychotherapy to children, teens, adults, and families.
Throughout the course of therapy, Dr. Hannani uses empathy, curiosity, and non-judgment to allow clients to feel safe and heard. She likes to meet clients where they are at, and work together to cultivate long-lasting changes that align with their unique values and aspirations. In the process, she reviews tools for moving toward the direction of self-empowerment, so that clients can feel more equipped to bypass the small and large hurdles that come their way. She utilizes a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and family systems in her work.
Dr. Hannani also has a passion for testing, recognizing its role as a catalyst for change in individuals who are seeking to find answers to their struggles. Her approach to testing is thorough and collaborative, and she views each client from a holistic lens with consideration to their cultural beliefs, family system, and physical well-being. She values making the testing process enjoyable for children and teens, and helping form a treatment plan that promotes growth in all areas of a client's life.
Dr. Candice Hannani received her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Health Psychology from Alliant International University, Los Angeles. She has trained in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, schools, and community-based and outpatient clinics. She completed her APA-accredited internship at Kaiser Permanente, where she gained extensive training providing evidence-based therapy and assessment to adults and teens with co-occurring mental health and physical health issues. Her graduate research focused on mental health interventions for individuals with chronic health conditions.
Dr. Hannani is a Los Angeles native. In her free time, Dr. Hannani enjoys yoga, hiking, spending time at the beach, and trying new restaurants with friends and family.
Registered Psychological Associate (#PSB94026700)
Supervised by Dr. Dorie Weiss (#PSY22224)
424.278.4686
12401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Charlie the Dog is a purebred Cavalier King Charles spaniel certified in play therapy and cuddling, with a specialty in afternoon naps.
BIANCA BERZNER
Testimonials
Simply put, Bianca is a gem. She is intuitive, present, honest, personable, wise and calm. Bianca helped our family over the span of several years and we were lucky to work with such an insightful and capable therapist. We enthusiastically recommend her as your therapeutic partner on your journey.
SARAH L.
When I first started working with Bianca, I was wrestling with debilitating resistance, self-doubt, and trust issues. One of my persistent hang-ups when we began working together was wanting to work out more frequently, but I wrestled with a deep-seated disbelief in my own abilities. Bianca led me through a series of sensory exercises that enabled me to explore my emotions, many of which, once I came to understand them, freed me of the resistance I’d been experiencing. She created such an accepting and empathetic environment that I felt truly seen and safe to be myself. After working with Bianca, I’m up to working out 5 times a week! But more than that, I’ve come into a deeper appreciation of my emotions, I’ve developed a stronger sense of faith in myself, and I’m excited to trust in life again.
L.H, YOUNG ADULT