Dr Raphael Gunner

I began my education as a student of literature. I earned a B.A. in English at Columbia University and a doctorate in English at Harvard University. After eight years in the private sector, I went back to school to do a doctorate in psychology at Ryokan College. This was followed by a certificate in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies (LAISPS), by two years in the extension program at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, and by a certificate in the advanced clinical technique of psychoanalytic psychotherapy at LAISPS. I received much of my clinical training at The Valley Community Clinic. Located in North Hollywood, this facility draws its supervisors from experienced therapists in Los Angeles and is known for providing insight-oriented psychotherapy. I started in private practice under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Kupper

From 2007 to 2015 I served as a clinical supervisor for the Valley Community Clinic in North Hollywood. And from 2005 to 2009 I served as a clinical supervisor for the Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills. Both of these facilities offer affordable therapy to the local community. And both serve as training grounds for aspiring clinicians. Serving as supervisor has been a great pleasure. It has given me an opportunity to work with therapists-in-training on the infinite subtleties of the clinical relationship. Generally speaking, the supervisee brings in a transcript of a session. We go line by line through the transcript and think together about the emotional nuances of the interaction

During the 2009 - 2010 academic year, I taught in the Doctoring 2 Program at UCLA Medical School. This program is designed to help second year med students learn to work skillfully with patients. The program focuses as much on relationship as it does on diagnosis. In a typical class, an actor playing a patient arrives with a complicated problem. Along with a retired pediatrician and a fourth year med student, I guided the class in taking a medical history, constructing a psychosocial profile, assessing the range of issues, developing a treatment plan, and writing up the case. As the psychologist in the group, my primary role was to help the students think about their relationship with the patient

I discovered yoga in 1992 and immediately fell deeply in love with the practice. I loved how it balanced the body, heart, and mind. I loved how it promoted flexibility and strength. And I loved how it offered a path to inner peace. When it came time for me to write my dissertation in psychology I decided to combine my love of yoga and psychology. I noticed that the relationship between yoga teachers and students resembled the relationship between psychotherapists and patients. But while psychology had lots to say about the therapeutic relationship, yoga had little to say about the teaching relationship. My dissertation looked at yoga through the lens of psychology. It became the basis for an article on the subject in Yoga Journal and workshops at Santa Monica Yoga and Yogaworks. Though my study of yoga began with Kundalini, I soon moved to Hatha, and then to Astanga

Between completing my doctorate in English literature at Harvard and launching my career as a clinical psychologist I spent several years developing real estate in Los Angeles. My area of expertise was affordable housing. I purchased land, secured tax credits, contacted syndicators, and arranged financing. I also developed an entry level market rate project and set up the buy-back of a loan from the government. My experience in real estate was very intense and introduced me to the stresses of life in the private sector. I learned what it's like to deal with millions of dollars, to perform under pressure, and to work with difficult people. It taught me to think creatively in a business environment, to maintain a sharp focus amid a flurry of distractions, and to sustain a winning attitude in the face of adversity

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