To paraphrase Socrates, a life unexamined is a life unlived. To him, identifying and acknowledging the limitations in our knowledge was a necessary first step on the journey to true knowledge. In this process, Socrates was demonstrating that a life examined is a life well lived.
Therapy is for everyone.
Sometimes the problem isn’t that your life is broken but that it doesn’t feel like yours. Sometimes you’re overwhelmed by demands, responsibilities, or relationships. Sometimes you feel anxious, disconnected, or haunted by the sense that you’re living on autopilot. And sometimes the world itself feels heavy: grief, uncertainty, injustice, loss, change…things that make ordinary coping feel thin.
In therapy, we make space for the big questions (meaning, identity, freedom, responsibility, connection, mortality) without losing sight of the everyday patterns where suffering actually lives. We’ll look closely at how this shows up in real life: the arguments you keep having, the ways you shut down or overfunction, the ways you avoid, the ways you lose yourself in relationships, the ways you carry despair or numbness alone. Together, we identify what’s repeating and craft change that is honest, workable, and sustainable, both internally and in the relationships and systems that matter to you.
- Your life looks functional from the outside, but internally you feel anxious, flat, restless, hopeless, or disconnected.
- Your relationships are strained, and you keep returning to the same argument, the same distance, or the same loneliness.
- You feel overwhelmed or burned out, and the strategies that used to work don’t work anymore.
- You’re moving through a transition, such as loss, breakup, career shift, becoming a parent, aging, relocation, and you don’t recognize yourself in the middle of it or don’t see a clear path forward.
- You’re carrying questions you can’t “logic” your way out of: Who am I now? What do I want? What matters? How do I live with uncertainty?
- You notice a repeating pattern: self-criticism, avoidance, overfunctioning, emotional shutdown, compulsive coping, despair, numbness.
Therapy can help you…
- Identify the pattern (internal and relational) and see what maintains it
- Develop insight you can use, not just insight you can name
- Practice new responses in how you think, how you communicate, how you set boundaries, how you repair
- Build a life that feels more intentional: clearer values, steadier relationships, cleaner decisions
- Feel more connected to yourself, to others, and to what matters
In other words: this is the pattern, this is what it costs, this is what you actually want, and this is what needs to change.
Intersectionality in Therapy
You don’t show up to therapy as a single story. Our mental health, relationships, and sense of self are shaped by the intersections of culture, race/ethnicity, family history, gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, ability, class, spirituality, and the worlds we’ve had to move through. These factors influence what we learned to feel, what we learned to hide, how safety is defined, and what “healing” is even allowed to look like.
In this practice, intersectionality isn’t a slogan, it’s part of the clinical process. We pay attention to how identity and context shape patterns, coping, attachment, and relationships. We also hold the reality that many people have had to adapt in ways that aren’t fully voluntary: code-switching, overfunctioning, staying small, staying agreeable, staying hypervigilant, or staying quiet to remain safe or accepted. Those strategies often make sense in the environments where they were learned, but they can also become costly over time.
At the same time, therapy remains practical. We translate insight into change: clearer boundaries, better communication, healthier repair, a kinder internal voice, and patterns of living that fit who you actually are. We want you to leave sessions with both depth and traction; more clarity, more choice, and more confidence in your ability to navigate relationships and the world you live in.
Our team includes therapists with diverse and intersecting identities, perspectives, and lived experiences. We view that diversity as a clinical strength because therapy works best when you don’t have to perform or translate yourself to be understood. If you’re not sure which therapist is the best fit, we’ll help you find a match based on your needs, preferences, and what you’re hoping to work on.
Individual Therapy
For anxiety, depression, burnout, life transitions, identity questions, grief, self-criticism, and the feeling that something needs to change even if you can’t fully name it yet. We’ll identify the patterns shaping your internal world and build insight that translates into decisions, boundaries, coping, and self-trust in your daily life.
Relational Therapy
For partners, families, and other relationship structures (including consensual non-monogamy) navigating conflict cycles, disconnection, trust injuries, intimacy concerns, communication breakdown, and repeating dynamics that don’t match your values. We’ll map the pattern between you, understand what maintains it, and practice new ways of relating so repair becomes possible.
Affirming and Inclusive
A Life Examined is grounded in the belief that people deserve to be understood on their own terms. We work supportively with neurodivergent clients (including ADHD/autism), LGBTQIA+ identities, diverse relationship structures (including consensual non-monogamy), and the many ways sexuality and identity develop over time. We also hold culture and context as part of the clinical picture so your experience isn’t reduced to a label.
Practical Details, Policies, and Other Questions
Dr. Christopher Chaffin, PsyD, LMFT #115225
Grounded in existential-humanistic psychotherapy and informed by relational/systemic thinking, my work integrates philosophical reflection with practical change, helping to identify patterns, develop insight, and build responses that hold up in real life. I’m the founder of A Life Examined, and I also serve as the Clinical Supervisor for our Associate therapists. My experience as a psychotherapist includes community mental health, inpatient care, and private practice. I also hold a position as faculty and Program Chair for the MFT Division of The Chicago School in Anaheim. As someone who is half-Persian, I hold culture, family history, and social context as central to how we make meaning and understand suffering. My approach is affirming of neurodiversity, sexuality, and identity, and I aim to offer a steady relationship where you don’t have to perform or translate yourself to be understood. Therapy, to me, is a space to explore what’s true, reconnect with who you are beneath coping and expectation, and build a life and relationships that fit you more honestly.
Our Associates
Julia Aguirre, MA
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Julia brings a warm, grounded presence to patients feeling emotionally stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure how to put their experience into words. She integrates supportive exploration with skill-building, helping patients strengthen emotional regulation, self-compassion, and real-life coping. Her style is affirming and steady, especially for patients navigating grief, anxiety, and life transitions.
Emily Allen, MA
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Emily works with teens and young adults navigating anxiety, self-esteem, and major life transitions. Her style is warm and practical, helping patients identify patterns, build coping tools that actually fit, and feel more grounded in who they are. She’s especially thoughtful with patients facing school pressure, family stress, and the complexity of becoming an adult.
Huy Huynh, MA
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Huy offers a steady, reflective space for patients who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about direction, identity, or belonging. He integrates meaning-making with practical change, helping patients clarify patterns and make choices that align with their values and relationships. His work is especially supportive for those carrying cultural adjustment stress or navigating competing expectations.
Adriana Villarreal, MA
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
Adriana helps patients understand the protective patterns that can show up as guardedness, self-doubt, emotional shutdown, or repeating relationship cycles. Her approach is compassionate and collaborative, with an emphasis on building safety, clarity, and new ways of relating both internally and with others. She’s a strong fit for people who want depth without judgment and change that feels sustainable.