Dr. Ijeoma Ezeofor, Psychologist

About me

Hi! I’m Dr. Ijeoma Ezeofor. I’m a licensed psychologist and I’m humbled that you are interested in learning more about me and my therapeutic approach.

About my therapeutic approach:
My therapeutic approach is best described as client-centered, insight-oriented, and solution-focused. By client-centered, I mean I start from a place of humility and appreciation for the client and their lived experience. I believe the client knows themselves better than I will ever know them and thus, I look to the client to determine what would be most suitable for them from a treatment perspective. In sessions, I often applaud and thank my clients for bringing themselves fully into the therapy space because I know it is a privilege to be allowed carriage on someone else’s life journey.

As an insight-oriented therapist, I believe my role is to help the client see their blind spots, to encourage the client to check unchecked assumptions, and to assist the client in drawing connections between phenomena they previously saw as unrelated. I do this primarily by asking questions, but I also provide psychoeducation, as needed.

In centering the client as the expert in their life and working with them to make meaning of that which concerns them, I hope ultimately to help my clients arrive at solutions that will allow them to live more quality lives. I believe our examination of the client’s problems are important, but so too are our efforts to arrive at solutions, which I define broadly—a solution could be simply having greater understanding of the issue so as to be at peace with it or it could be making a more drastic life change. In keeping with my client-centered approach, I expect that clients will play a major role in identifying potential solutions and hold themselves accountable for implementing those solutions.

About my clinical experience:
I have 6 years of experience providing therapy services, including individual, group, couples, and family therapy. I also have experience conducting intellectual (e.g. WAIS), personality (e.g., MMPI), and vocational (e.g., Strong Interest) assessments. I have worked with clients on a range of clinical concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, relationship issues, grief, and trauma. My priority interests are in the areas of self-care, self-empowerment, and interpersonal communication. I also have a background in public health and community psychology, which inform how I think about and conceptualize individual problems and treatment plans. One way that they inform my approach is in the considerations I make for social and cultural factors in the presentation of clients’ issues. Our problems are not born in a vacuum and our level of agency to direct change in our lives differs based on our social location and the sociopolitical, structural, and historical factors that impinge on all of us.

About my training:
I earned my PhD in the APA-accredited Counseling Psychology program at the University of Maryland, College Park (go Terps!) and completed my APA-accredited internship at Illinois State University Student Counseling Services. I also did a post-doctoral psychology residency in the Department of Psychiatry of Kaiser Permanente Union City. I obtained bachelor and masters degrees from MIT, NYU, and Harvard.

Professional experience

Additional areas of focus: Family conflicts, Trauma and abuse, Grief, Eating disorders, Anger management, Career difficulties, Compassion fatigue, Body Image, Communication Problems, Control Issues, Emptiness, Family of Origin Issues, Family Problems, Forgiveness, Guilt and Shame, Immigration Issues, Isolation/Loneliness, Life Purpose, Money and Financial Issues, Multicultural Concerns, Obsessions, Compulsions, and OCD, Post-traumatic Stress, Prejudice and Discrimination, Self-Love, Social Anxiety and Phobia, Trichotillomania, Women's Issues

Clinical approaches: Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Psychodynamic Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy

License information

CA Psychologist 29848