Meet Randé Dorn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randé Dorn.

Randé, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in LA and originally worked as an artist, teaching and choreographing dance locally. Having a family was important to me, so somewhere in there I got married and had two kids. While my husband was in graduate school for lighting design, my mom died of cancer. She was my person, so the loss was at times unbearable. What helped me was the research I did around death and grieving and really normalizing the process for myself and the kids. It wasn’t enough though. I couldn’t shake the feeling something needed to change in my life. It is hard to ignore the calling on your heart once it’s been broken open. Six months in, I decided to apply to graduate school for psychology. It was always an interest of mine, but my mom’s death gave me the agency I needed to move forward with it.

After graduating, I moved pretty quickly into private practice and last year added to my capacities by becoming a full-time therapist at The California Institute of the Arts. Working with artists has been a dream. I love their enormous capacity for creative and intellectual exploration and their openness towards challenging ideas. There is always an inherit curiosity that serves artists well in the therapeutic process. I’m driven by the belief that artists deserve a career that is nurtured and sustained by a rich and inspiring personal life. It shouldn’t be either or. I believe in a liberation model and if your career prevents you from experiencing the fullness of life than you are not really free.

Has it been a smooth road?
There are two parts to that answer. It takes about five years or more from beginning to licensure. It is a long road (3000 clinical hours) and a lot of that time is spent working for free. That alone limits diversity in the field because the journey puts such a strain on finances and time, especially if you are raising a family. I worked at two separate sites while in school and working part-time. I also had a partner and my family to help. I can’t imagine if I were doing this without support. It might have been impossible. We preach self-care, but the field doesn’t always ensure it for its own the way it should.

On the other hand, my personal relationship with the work has been divinely guided. I have worked at wonderful places and have been mentored by the most loving and generous people. The clients I get to work with are my heart and my co-workers are my family. I’m still learning and some days can be tough, but its been an incredibly welcoming endeavor for me.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I work in private practice and at an art college as a therapist. I specialize in helping artists create a sustainable model for living that emphasizes an equally inspired personal life as the foundation for a thriving career.

My clients also tend to identify as people of color and/or queer. They are ambitious, thoughtful, creative, and audacious.

I’m most proud of the population I get engage with on a daily bases and the approaches I get to utilize working with artists on a college campus. I use a multicultural approach with a small-town feel that includes showing up in the room as a full person with all of my biases, flaws, and perspectives, instead of being just a blank, nodding, stare.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diverse, creative culture here in LA. Over the last year, I have really made an effort to try and get out more and I have not been disappointed. Of course, what is frustrating is the amount of traffic and how aggressive people drive here, but since I grew up here I’m mostly used to it.

Pricing:

• 50 mins, weekly or bi-weekly appointments
• Fee: $200-250

Contact Info:

• Address: 12722 Riverside Dr
  Valley Village, CA 91607R
• Website: RandeDorn.com
• Phone: 818 599-2522
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randedorntherapyla/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randedorntherapy/

Image Credit:
Marco Santiago-Dorn, Omar Gonzalez

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