Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Alejandro Daniel Pina of Los Feliz

Alejandro Daniel Pina shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Alejandro Daniel, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
Couples that want to go experience a couples counseling therapy session at an office have a few misconceptions. It’s important to build a therapeutic relationship with your individual therapist, but couples therapy doesn’t exist to build a relationship with your therapist, it exists to strengthen an intimate relationship with your partner.

Telehealth and online couples therapy is still a relatively new concept, but I believe that future studies will prove that couples who participate in therapy together from their home will have a higher success than couples who venture into an office.

Most couples that have an impulse to do couples therapy in an office are avoidant. They know that online couples counseling is an option, but that feels too overwhelming for them, and they’d rather take their problems elsewhere. Ironically, being avoidant is likely their main source of conflict in their relationship in the first place.

Having worked in-person pre-pandemic, I discovered that genuine benefits increase when couples invest in TeleHealth sessions from their own homes.

Imagine learning how to communicate with your partner in an office. Guess when you’ll utilize that new form of communication?​

The answer is – back in that office.

With Feel Understood Couples Counseling, you can learn a new way of communicating with your partner, at home, where you’ll practice that skillset regularly. Imagine how much faster you’ll be able to support each other.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve been working successfully as a couples therapist for over 5 years, I’ve probably seen it all. I’m Alejandro Daniel Pina, LMFT a California Board of Behavioral Sciences licensed and EFT-trained couples therapist here to help couples feeling trapped in repeating patterns who are wondering how to improve communication.

With my EFT training, I’m successful in counseling couples how to repair past hurts and feel supported in their relationship. Partners will learn how to communicate more effectively to rebuild understanding and strengthen care. I welcome interracial couples, LGBT couples, and I offer premarital counseling.

With Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), couples leave sessions feeling listened to and understood. But entering couples therapy with uncertainty can be scary. Try a free phone consultation to understand what you both can expect in a couples session. You can book now on my website www.FeelUnderstood.com

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
How to Rebuild Trust? There is no quick solution, but trust can be regained, after past hurts are repaired. There is a ton of work that has to be done, the same way you rebuild a broken wall; brick by brick.

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy is essential at helping couples repair past hurts; it’s not just about apologizing, but truly understanding all the different layers of how a partner was effected.

After the work is done between partners to fully understand the pain caused and have a beneficial apology, then the trust can begin to be rebuilt; and that takes repetition over time. Inevitably, after a thorough deep dive with a EFT-trained couples therapist, trust can be regained.

Does Couples Counseling for Cheating, or Infidelity Help?
I can guarantee that couples therapy with Feel Understood will help you with a thorough understanding of what led to infidelity in your relationship. There are so many factors and variables that you will not have considered, and discovering a clearer picture can be helpful, and maybe a relief.

After this understanding is established, trust needs to be rebuilt; there is no guarantee that will happen, but it’s absolutely possible. Rebuilding trust takes repetition and effort, and time. The repair work that will happen is not just about the infidelity, couples therapy will teach you both how to have a more secure relationship that will prevent any further cheating to occur

Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
Video Stores built incredible community in society, and it’s sad to no long have access to this tangible experience. I’m glad libraries have been able to preserve older forms of media for rent, but that isn’t a place that can recreate the fun and excitement of seeing a new release on the shelf. Media used to be valued because they were tangible objects that had to be handled with care in order to be shared with others. It’s a shame that feeling has been lost.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
“You have to put in the work of course but Alejandro is an excellent guide. I highly recommend him.”

“Alejandro was wonderful. He was a very caring and thoughtful therapist.”

“I can’t say enough about Alejandro. He’s personable, patient, and can call the issues at hand out within minutes of listening to you which is a gift.”

“He is very serious about the subject matter, yet can be very casual about his approach and delivery.”

“What I appreciated most is that he walks the line between bluntness and kindness so well.”

“He is non-judgmental, empathetic, sharp, intelligent, knowledgeable, professional and engaged.”

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I love being a couples therapist and my past has shaped me in a becoming a meaningful therapist. My background includes three years as a crisis counselor at a national suicide hotline. I’ve learned that a common theme among those in pain is not feeling understood or seen in the world. I appreciate the interconnected collective philosophy of Carl Jung, and I value the understanding of couple pairing within Imago couples theory.

We are all on a spectrum of different diagnosable traits and behaviors. Getting an understanding of where we are on the spectrum can help guide us toward the most productive choices for our lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.feelunderstood.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alejandro-daniel-pina-lmft-feel-understood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FeelUnderstood
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/feel-understood-los-angeles

Image Credits
credit Alejandro Daniel Pina