When life goes off course, people do what they can to re-orient. Many will return to collective wisdom or study the emerging guidance of self-help media. Those of a systematic bent may try mood-tracking apps or journaling to better define their troublesome patterns. Some undertake bold new psychedelic experiences to triangulate and adapt to the difficulties of waking life. If these efforts somehow miss the point or if you’d like to understand your problems of living more deeply, you should consider talk therapy.
People seek my help when they are ready to try a radical new kind of conversation in the service of a life worth living. I offer psychodynamic psychotherapy (based on psychoanalytic principles) to help people become who they are. Where indicated, I also offer finely tailored medication services to treat problems of inattention, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Creatives, academics, technical minds, entrepreneurs, and fellow helping professionals have all benefitted extensively from my services.
My Approach
Meet Lance Middleton
I love scientific problem-solving and have always wanted to bring creative thinking to bear on the quality and duration of people’s lives. From my humble Southern Louisiana origins, the “wind of freedom” blew me westward to Stanford University, where I received doctorates in clinical medicine and cancer genomics. Those years of education pointed the way inward, shifting my focus and making me a lifelong student of the mind.
I trained in adult psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, where I became an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and psychological distress. During training, I was exposed to psychotherapies of depth, insight, and relationship — approaches that offered surprising emotional wisdom and changed lives for the better. In contrast to much of the ephemera in mental health, I could straightforwardly want this kind of help for my patients, my family, and myself.
I am pleased to offer the depth and breadth of my experience to patients, either in person or online, throughout the state of California.
Services
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Consultation is a 30 minute discovery call. We will discuss your goals in seeking treatment and how I can help.
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The intake appointment is 75-90 minutes either in person or online. We will characterize your present-day symptoms and exhaustively review your medical, psychiatric, and family history. We will arrive at a provisional diagnosis and treatment plan which can include lifestyle management, psychotherapy, and medication strategies to address your symptoms.
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Full length follow-up sessions are 50 minutes either in person or online. These appointments are generally focused on psychotherapy, but can also include medication management and discussion of lifestyle modification depending on the focus of your treatment.
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Brief follow up sessions are 25 minutes either in person or online. These appointments are focused on lifestyle modification and medication management to address your psychiatric symptoms.
