Ginger Clark, Ph.D.
Contact her by email:
New clients, please call (714) 898-0362
Works at: Long Beach

Ginger Clark is a licensed psychologist specializing in work with both men and women on issues around identity, career, family, fertility, parenting, meaning, and purpose.

She is a full-time Associate Professor of Clinical Education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.  Ginger is the Program Coordinator of the Marriage and Family Therapy Master's Degree Program there.  In addition to her administrative duties in running the program, she has taught the Introduction to Counseling Skills course, the Counseling Theories course, the Group Counseling course, the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy course, the Career Development course, as well as supervising the Practicum and Fieldwork courses. 

Ginger holds her clinical hours in the Long Beach office only on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  She typically sees clients every two weeks; during the same time slot every other Thursday.  Unfortunately, she does not have evening hours, nor is she able to schedule appointments on any other day than Thursday. 

She has been trained to work with survivors of sexual abuse, with a particular interest in helping clients to weave their histories of trauma and abuse into their stories such that they no longer define the client, but become only a part of what has informed the person they are today. 

She works from an Existential/Feminist approach, where her primary focus is on helping clients to identify what meaning they want their lives to have, and then identify the options available to them in reaching that goal.

She is expressly focused on helping clients gain access to resources that can help them create options and make choices.  Her goal is to work so that all clients, including those with few resources or support, can get the help they need to reach their goals.  The idea of having to make hard choices and being responsible for the consequences of those choices often leaves clients frozen; fearful of making the wrong choice, or of losing other options.

In her work in helping clients to act in spite of their fear, she uses a number of techniques pulled from Cognitive Therapy, Gestalt work, as well as other humanistic and empirically supported approaches.

Probably the most important element of her work in therapy is the therapeutic relationship, where Ginger works closely with the client to develop an intimate, trusting, safe relationship in which the client is able to explore painful experiences and feelings, as well as freely express  joy without judgment or expectation. 

Her client load is almost evenly split between women and men, with slightly more men than women.  Although her approach includes feminist ideals (evening the playing field for all clients, providing resources and options to empower clients, teaching clients to be advocates for others), she connects very well with her male clients; helping them to feel comfortable, respected, and understood.  Many of her male clients were referred by previous male clients because they felt supported and not judged, but challenged by her work with them.

New clients, please call office number. Do not call therapist.
Administrative information needs to be gathered before scheduling.
Page last updated: 9/14/11