About My Therapy Approach

In-person therapy | Scientifically-supported | Individuals and couples

LGBTQ-affirmative

Serving West LA, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood

BRETT MARROQUIN, PH.D. | Licensed Clinical Psychologist

At Solid Ground CBT, I provide therapy for individuals with anxiety, emotional problems, and relationship issues, and for couples seeking to improve their relationships.

My therapy approach is focused on you as a unique individual or couple, but grounded in the most current clinical science — in other words, what we know works.




Dr. Brett Marroquin, therapist at Solid Ground CBT in West Los Angeles, standing in green sweater

Dr. Brett Marroquin, Licensed Clinical Psychologist

My approach as a therapist is primarily cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which means I work with clients on the specific thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that are causing them emotional or relationship distress.  For couples, my approach is called integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT).

I take an active, collaborative, and direct approach to therapy, and I highly value building a comfortable, trusting, and caring professional relationship with clients.  My clients would tell you I'm warm, supportive, direct, "real,” and open-minded. I know how powerful therapy can be in creating meaningful, lasting growth and change — and I also know how scary and challenging it can be. I love being a therapist, and I’m honored and humbled to be a part of the process for others.

You and I will first do a thorough assessment to get a clear sense of what you're struggling with and what might be contributing to it.  We’ll then use practical, concrete approaches — tailored specifically to your needs and treatment goals — to explore how different ways of thinking and feeling can free you from what’s been holding you back, so you can live the life you want.

ABOUT DR. MARROQUIN

I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the State of California (license #PSY29499).  I have 15 years of experience treating emotional disorders and relationship problems, including 7+ years of private practice in Los Angeles.

I also serve as a Clinical Instructor at UCLA’s Psychology Clinic, supervising graduate students’ clinical training in individual and couple therapy.

  • Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology: Yale University

  • Clinical Internship/Residency: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

  • Certified in Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT)

My prior clinical experience includes the Yale Center for Anxiety and Mood Disorders; Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital; the PTSD/Anxiety Clinic at the West Haven, Connecticut VA; Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s community mental health center in downtown Chicago; and private practice at Behavioral Associates Los Angeles.

In addition to my clinical practice, I was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Loyola Marymount University until 2023. Although I love my roles in academia, I left my faculty position to focus full-time on my true passion — providing quality, evidence-based therapy that helps clients directly.

My ongoing research focuses on the role of intimate relationships in emotion, emotion regulation, and mental health. If you are interested in my research, you can find more information on my Google Scholar page. I am a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), and the Lesbian and Gay Psychotherapy Association of Southern California (LAGPA).

Dr. Brett Marroquin, therapist at Solid Ground CBT in West Los Angeles, sitting in red shirt

Click below to learn more about my specialty areas — anxiety, couples therapy, and serving LGBTQ clients.

Olida Therapy Suites West LA therapy office with sofa and chair

Solid Ground CBT offices located in West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills

Therapy grounded in psychological science.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a well-researched, empirically-supported form of therapy that focuses mostly on the “here and now,” and it’s especially effective for anxiety and emotional difficulties compared to other treatment approaches. In CBT we examine how over time we can develop relationships between how we think, feel, and act that cause pain and difficulty, and then work to build new patterns for relief and change.

In my work with couples, I use integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT). IBCT is a cognitive behavioral therapy specifically designed for couples, and focuses on emotional connection and balancing acceptance and change in the relationship.

I also incorporate techniques from other empirically-supported treatments closely related to CBT: dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), emotion regulation therapy (ERT), and for couples, emotionally focused therapy (EFT). While these therapies also emphasize the role of thoughts, they add important elements of emotional awareness, emotional regulation skills, personal values, and acceptance.

Therapy grounded in connection.

CBT, IBCT, DBT, ACT, ERT, EFT... sometimes this alphabet soup can make empirically-supported treatments sound cold and "clinical."  But they shouldn't be!  The heart of therapy is always about you as a unique and complex individual, and a caring relationship between you and your therapist (in fact, the science even backs that up!). You are not a set of symptoms. You are a complex person with a past, present, and future, taking brave steps toward getting back on solid ground. My job is to help you take those steps, with tools that work.

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Consistent with my clinical focus, in my academic research I study the role of intimate relationships in how people regulate emotions in healthy or unhealthy ways, and how therapy and clinical intervention can help.

A few selected and representative publications:

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