Orange County Counseling Services

Individual Psychotherapy

Individual psychotherapy for adolescents, young adults, and adults generally occurs on a weekly basis to address various forms of psychological distress and relationship problems. Dr. Tobin’s focus is on the pragmatic resolution of stresses in the context of exploring aspects of one’s personality and character which may contribute to or exacerbate life difficulties and dilemmas. The clinical orientation focuses on exploring the ways in which aspects of one’s developmental history, and the personal adaptations used to cope with difficult life events, may have influenced one’s current predicament, social relationships, psychic conflicts, and overall emotional health. Dr. Tobin’s approach to treatment is influenced by psychoanalytic perspectives, existential psychology, and Buddhist approaches to mental suffering and internal distress.

Couple Therapy

Couple therapy is offered to partners in newly-established relationships as well as those who have been in long-term committed relationships for decades. Dr. Tobin has experience working with heterosexual as well as homosexual couples. His approach views common presenting problems for therapy among couples (e.g., poor communication, gradually evolving emotional distance and alienation, suspected or actual infidelity, diminished sexual intimacy, job/career transitions, and stresses including the birth of a child or the illness/death of a parent or sibling) as representative of inherent vulnerabilities in the dynamics of the relationship that were likely not acknowledged previously.

For Dr. Tobin, the couple is a “system” in which each partner comes to adopt a role necessary for the stability and functioning of the relationship. In the context of life events and stresses, as well as the general growth and evolution of each partner’s identity, theses established roles inevitably need to be re-evaluated and revised. Distressed couples often need guidance and exploratory therapy to instill in their relationship a greater degree of role flexibility and fluidity to alter the culture of the relationship. If the couple is able to achieve this through therapy, each partner will be able to continuously re-define who he or she is in relation to the other. Intimacy will be reborn in the context of effective boundaries that allow each partner to serve as a figure of support and positive influence for the other. The dissolution of restrictive role assignment and dysfunctional boundaries also helps to clarify if, for some couples, the ending of a conflictual and unfulfilling relationship is a warranted option.

Adolescent, Family and Parenting Issues

Dr. Tobin applies his previous scientific research on parent-teen conflict and attachment bonding to psychotherapy with adolescents and young adults. The clinical approach emphasizes the theoretical position that many child difficulties and conflicts within the family are caused by multiple and mutually-reinforcing factors to which each family member contributes. Depending on the situation, Dr. Tobin may work individually with the adolescent or young adult, or he may choose to work with the family as a whole or with the parents only in a parent guidance format.

Dr. Tobin views the unique problems of adolescence and young adulthood as stemming largely from the ambivalence experienced by the child (and often other family members) concerning the development of the child’s unique identity and psychological autonomy. The challenges of this developmental period are further exacerbated by the current sociocultural landscape in which the forces of technology, the breakdown of the family, the proliferation of illicit drugs, and a narcissistic/ “Me” atmosphere obstruct natural pathways to emotional maturity and separation/individuation from the family of origin. High-risk behaviors, mood dysregulation, depression/anxiety, sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, displays of under-achievement or over-achievement, and conflict/discord with parents are common issues experienced by youths addressed in Dr. Tobin’s practice.

Dr. Tobin provides case consultation and clinical supervision in individual, couple, group and family therapy to clinicians at all levels of professional development. He formerly served as Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School and staff psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In these roles, Dr. Tobin supervised psychiatry residents and psychology interns training at Harvard Medical School sites.