Damien Brunt PsyD, is a relational and insight-oriented therapist who believes meaningful change develops through support, self-awareness, and a collaborative understanding of the patterns shaping a person’s life. He approaches therapy as a shared process where clients can better understand their internal world, relationships, emotional patterns, and defenses while developing greater agency, flexibility, and self-compassion. Damien believes healing happens when clients feel both genuinely understood and appropriately challenged in ways that support growth, honesty, and meaningful change.

Damien works from an integrative approach grounded in psychodynamic therapy while thoughtfully incorporating cognitive-behavioral, relational, mindfulness-based, exposure-based, and skills-oriented interventions depending on the needs of each client. He believes that no single therapeutic model fits every person or concern, and tailors treatment to support both practical change and deeper emotional understanding.

His work is informed by psychodynamic theory, attachment theory, object relations, cognitive restructuring, behavioral approaches, ACT, DBT, mindfulness-based practices, and exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD. He values understanding the deeper emotional and relational themes underlying distress, while also helping clients build practical skills, reduce avoidance, and develop healthier ways of relating to themselves and others.

Damien works with teens, young adults, adults, and older adults experiencing anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma-related concerns, ADHD, shame, emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, identity concerns, personality-related difficulties, and life transitions. He enjoys working with LGBTQIA+ clients, military-connected individuals, veterans, and military families, as well as gifted, twice-exceptional (2e), and neurodivergent individuals requiring lower levels of support.

He has particular experience providing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and holds a strong interest in trauma, identity disruption, relational wounds, and the long-term effects of difficult interpersonal dynamics, including the impact of relationships affected by personality disorders. Many of the clients Damien works with are seeking more than symptom reduction alone and are interested in deeper self-understanding, emotional integration, and lasting change.

Cultural humility is central to Damien’s work. He strives to create a therapeutic environment where identity, culture, social context, lived experience, and systems of power can be openly explored and respected. He views clients as the experts of their own experiences and values openness, curiosity, repair, and collaboration within the therapeutic relationship.

Outside of therapy, Damien’s perspective is shaped by international travel, lifelong martial arts practice, and earlier experience in body-oriented healing work. He values curiosity, self-reflection, and the many ways people cultivate meaning, resilience, and connection throughout life.

Damien graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Sacramento, and completed his doctoral degree at the California School of Professional Psychology in Sacramento in 2024. He is currently practicing as a postdoctoral resident.

His clinical training has included long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, group therapy, psychological assessment, OCD treatment, relational process work, and personality-focused treatment. He has facilitated OCD groups, process groups, and LGBTQIA+ teen groups and has worked with clients across the lifespan.

Damien’s background also includes research, publication, and psychological assessment training, which continue to inform his work related to diagnosis, ethics, clinical formulation, and evidence-informed care.

English. He can speak very little Mandarin Chinese, however he is not conversational. 

SUPERVISED BY: DR. KATIE POLSKY, LICENSED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST #PSY23342