STEPHEN KIERULFF, Ph.D.

A licensed clinical psychologist, Stephen Kierulff offers psychotherapy, counseling, psychological testing, neuropsychological testing, educational testing, galvanic skin response biofeedback, skin temperature biofeedback and psychological evaluations. He works with couples, families, and individuals of all ages, including teenagers and younger children. You can e-mail him at DoctorKierulff@gmail.com or, for a faster response, leave a message at 310-226-6996. Now in Spanish: Informacion en Espanol se puede hallar abajo, despues de lo de Ingles, donde se dice, "AHORA EN ESPANOL."

Dr. Kierulff has two offices.

The West L.A. office is at 12304 Santa Monica Blvd., third floor, suite 42, Los Angeles, CA 90025. It is on the south-west corner at Wellesley Avenue, just one or two blocks west of Bundy Drive, and one or two blocks east of Centinela Avenue. It is near, but not in, the city of Santa Monica. Dr. K is usually in his West L.A. office from 1 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Fridays. The waiting room is on the third floor, and there’s usually a receptionist -- Jane or Anna -- behind the desk. Wait for Dr. K to find you in the waiting room at your appointment time, or knock on room 42 at your appointment time to let him know you’re there. It’s a big building and it may take you a while to find things. Suite 342 says Mary Bugbee, Ph.D. on the door. Dr. K is sub-letting from Dr. Bugbee; he usually puts his business card on the door. It's near the north-east corner of the building, near Santa Monica Boulevard and Wellesley Avenue, on the 3rd floor. Look for the offices on the 3rd floor in the north-east corridor. You’ll see number 5 on your left, and then you’ll find Dr. K’s number 42 on your right, the first office in the corridor. If you can’t find number 42, try the corridor on the other side of the building. When you do find number 42, knock. If no one answers, wait in the waiting room and Dr. K will come and get you. If you’re more than 15 minutes late, and you’re the last appointment of the day, or the last appointment just before his lunch break, Dr. K may leave, so be on time. If you get lost, leave a message at 310-226-6996 and say your phone number twice, speaking slowly. You can park in the building’s underground parking area for five dollars. If you don’t want to spend five bucks, park on the street, but watch the signs, because it'll cost you $68 if you park in the wrong area at the wrong time. The Smart & Final store, with lots of parking, is on the east side of Wellesley Avenue, south of Santa Monica Boulevard; they say they’ll tow, but if you buy something from them and put the plastic bag on the passenger seat of your car, you may be able to get away with parking there for an hour. Best to play it safe and park elsewhere if the Smart & Final lot is near full, though. The West L.A. office has ramps and elevators big enough for wheelchairs and large baby-strollers. AHORA EN ESPANOL: La oficina en el Oeste de Los Angeles esta a 12304 Santa Monica Boulevard, a la esquina de Wellesley Avenida, entre Bundy Boulevard y Centinela Avenida. El codigo postal es Los Angeles, CA 90025. Dr. Kierulff esta en el tercer piso, cuarto numero 42. Esta mas or menos una milla al oeste del 405 Freeway y del Sepulveda Blvd. Se puede estacionar su coche en la calle, pero busca signos que dicen "No Parking" para evitar una tickete de $68.

The Inglewood office is at 111 North La Brea Avenue, Suite 609, Inglewood, CA 90301, between Manchester Boulevard and Florence Avenue, north of the City Hall, south of the Court House, across the street from the Kaiser Permanente building, next to radio station KJLH, on the west side of the street. Parking is available at the City Hall parking lot on Queen Street, just north of Manchester, for $2 per hour, or you can park at the Inglewood library in a metered parking space, or you can park right out front on La Brea (bring quarters, or a credit card). Dr. Kierulff usually accepts appointments at his Inglewood office on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. The doctor will come out and find you in the waiting room, and he’ll walk with you through the door marked “Executive Suites” and down the hallway to his psychotherapy office. The Inglewood office has an elevator that provides easy access for wheelchairs and large baby-strollers. AHORA EN ESPANOL: La oficina en Inglewood esta en el 111 Norte La Brea Avenida, cuarto # 609, sexto piso. El codigo postal is Inglewood 90301. Estamos entre el Corte y el Centro de Gobierno, entre Manchester Blvd y Florence Avenida. Cuando entra el piso # 6. llena los papeles para clientes nuevos que son in la mesa cerca del copiador. Usa pluma negro, y llena dos lados del papeles. Dibuje 3 dibujos, firma 5 paginas de acuerdos. Entonces espere a Dr. Kierulff o va al cuarto # 9 en el sexto piso.

Psychotherapy sessions are usually 45 minutes, although the first session may last a little longer. Please be on time, or early. If you’re coming for the first time or if you’re coming for a psychological evaluation, bring your eyeglasses and a black-ink pen, and arrive a half an hour early. If you’re at the Inglewood office, find the clip-board that holds Dr. Kierulff’s intake forms, near by table by the Xerox machine in the waiting room. Fill in those forms, printing clearly. If your appointment time is just before lunch, or the last of the day, and you’re more than 15 minutes late, Dr. Kierulff may leave, so be on time. Calculate the extra driving time you might need in order to get to the office a little early in case of heavy traffic.

To see Dr. Kierulff’s resumé (his curriculum vitae) click the blue RESUMÉ/VITAE button near the top of this page.

Highlights of therapy sessions can be seen by clicking the blue THERAPY STORIES button near the top of this page. Stories include “Couples Therapy with a Twist,” “Shy Girl Turns Un-shy,” “How a Disaffected Husband Fell in Love with his Wife,” “Panic Attack,” “Claudia’s Remarkable Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse,” “Flying Blind but Better than Dad,” “Between Mexico and America,” “Dog Gone Phobia,” “Bratty Girl Decides to Become Nice,” “Foiling a Death Wish” and “Interpersonal Therapy of Depression.” (Names and other identifying information have been changed to protect clients’ privacy.)

Clicking the blue TESTIMONIALS button near the top of this page will allow you to see colleagues’ and clients’ words and sentences (and sometimes even paragraphs) of praise for Dr. Kierulff.

Conditions that have been diagnosed and treated by Dr. Kierulff include depression; anxiety; panic attacks; agoraphobia; bipolar disorder; hypomania; mania; phobias; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); being overweight; morbid obesity; somatization disorder; somatoform disorder; sexual dysfunctions, including erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation, and addiction to pornography; sexual abuse trauma; insomnia; sleep apnea; parent-child relational problems; marital problems; problems between siblings; age-related cognitive decline; dementia; grief; bereavement; academic problems such as reading disorder, mathematics disorder and other learning disabilities; attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADD and ADHD); conduct disorder; oppositional defiant disorder; disruptive behavior disorders; encopresis (soiling); enuresis (bed-wetting); separation anxiety disorder; selective mutism; stereotypic movement disorder; alcoholism; drug addiction; caffeinitis; marijuana abuse; cocaine abuse; hallucinagen abuse; inhalant abuse; nicotine dependence (smoking); heroin abuse; schizophrenia; delusional disorder; schizoaffective disorder; brief psychotic disorder; and personality disorders. People with conditions that are NOT treated by Dr. Kierulff include anorexics, bulimics, sexual abusers, batterers, and those with Asperger's Syndrome. Dr. Kierulff handles valid workers’ compensation cases, personal injury evaluations, international adoption evaluations of prospective adoptive parents, and disability evaluations. He also evaluates clients’ psychological suitability for bariatric, gastric bypass or lap-band surgery.

One of Dr. K's specialties is writing reports for a judge to consider in a court case. Because he can write very persuasively, and has authored two books and numerous professional articles, Dr. K’s reports have freed clients from messy legal quagmires. He spent time in internships in clinical and forensic psychology, and was a professor of psychology, so his background allows him to qualify as an expert witness and to review and rebut other psychologists’ and psychiatrists’ evaluations and reports. His re-evaluations have sometimes made it possible for candidates to qualify for sensitive positions, such as with the county sheriff or a police department. Dr. Kierulff has worked hand-in-hand with ethical lawyers for years. For a person who has been unfairly judged or incorrectly diagnosed, the doctor’s help may be quite valuable. Dr. Kierulff serves as an expert witness ($550 per hour). For immigration cases, he does evaluations reporting psychological aspects of extreme hardship (I-601 waivers), the need for asylum or stays of deportation ($450 per evaluation, per person). He has also evaluated employees with regard to Fitness for Duty.

In doing psychotherapy, Dr. Kierulff uses many different modalities and techniques, integrating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), behavior therapy, existential-humanistic therapy, direct decision therapy, psychodynamic techniques (including free association and interpretation of transference, but not psychoanalysis per se), Jungian analysis, Gestalt therapy, schema therapy, mentalizing, couples therapy, family therapy, rational-emotive therapy (RET), psychosynthesis, the emotional freedom technique (EFT), narrative therapy, eye movement desensitization and restructuring (EMDR), consultation with other therapists, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, humor, insight, logic, conversation, limited reparenting, encouragement, mirroring, biblio-therapy (recommending or loaning appropriate books and articles), coordination of treatment if the client has a psychiatrist or other medical doctors working on the case, dream analysis, advice, psycho-education (teaching useful information or techniques such as active listening, progressive relaxation, and autogenics), patience, understanding, acceptance, detachment, recommending meditation and/or exercise or whatever else might be needed, figuring out the underlying reason(s) that a problem keeps hanging on, and any other method that has worked or might work.

Psychotherapy is an adventure. Nobody can predict exactly how deep it will get or how long the process will take.

A master at keeping secrets, Dr. K understands all levels of communication, and he can decipher the minutest variations of vocal, tonal, gestural and postural signals. Managing to put his clients’ interests before his own, he just plain loves people, and serving others is as natural to him as breathing air. Dr. Kierulff has a powerful gift for attention and concentration; he can digest weighty, complex matters and come up with solutions. (These descriptions are courtesy of H. Mathis and E. Lake.)

Dr. Kierulff’s primary way of doing therapy is simply listening, and then talking. The key is knowing what to listen for, and then knowing what to suggest or to do to make things better. In contrast to some therapists, Dr. K doesn’t only listen.

Living a human existence can be complicated. Living as a couple can be more complicated. Living in a family can be much more complicated. And living in a family that is angry, divorcing, divorced, or dysfunctional can be even more complicated. Cutting through all the jargon, when you select a therapist to help you with problems in living, what really counts is experience (in Dr. Kierulff’s case, thirty years doing diagnostic evaluations and psychotherapy). What also counts is intelligence. Dr. Kierulff placed in the top one percent of the applicants who took the California psychology licensing exam in 1984, and he scored in the "genius" category when he was given the Wechsler IQ test in high school. But more importantly, Dr. Kierulff has heart. He cares. And he’s a regular guy. He doesn’t come off like an egghead. He’s easy to talk to, and easy to trust. He makes people feel heard and understood on deeper levels. His ears are instruments of healing. (The last two sentences are thanks to H. Mathis.)

Dr. Kierulff’s customary fee is $500 per session for psychotherapy. He charges $550 per session for family therapy, testing, evaluations, and expert witness testimony, and you’re worth it. Dr. K offers a substantial discount and charges only $150 per session for those who pay via cash or check. Your insurance may pay all, or a large portion of the fee. Dr. K is an in-network provider for Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross, United Behavioral Health, Value Options, Managed Health Network (MHN), United Health Care, USBHPC, Integrated Behavioral Health, APS, Medicare, Health Net, Aetna, PacifiCare, Cigna, Magellan, and other mental health and behavioral health insurance companies, as well as various Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs).

Dr. K taught Elementary and Junior High School for 7 years, and he served as an Adjunct Professor and Associate Professor of Psychology & Education at several different universities over the course of 10 years, but from his point of view, that’s nothing compared with his touring the country in 1967 playing electric piano in a rock’n’roll band that had a number-two-in-the-nation hit record.

Clients have come to consult Dr. Kierulff from Europe, New York City, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and all over California.

Websites with information about mental health include PsychCentral.com, WebMD.com, Medscape.com, the National Library of Medicine at nlm.nih.gov, and Dr-Bob.org/mental.html

Dr. K shares his Inglewood office with a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Nivia Van Damme. She accepts MHN, CIGNA, Anthem Blue Cross, and Aetna insurance. You can reach her at phone number 310-626-7724.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *