About Your Therapist

Hi, I’m Grenda!

After spending twenty years climbing the ladder to become a C-suite executive, I found myself disillusioned and in deep questioning about what this life is all about. My search propelled me toward my own inner work and ultimately a personal calling to become a psychotherapist. I work with individuals wanting to deepen in their self awareness and relationship skills and with partners that want to thrive in building healthy interdependence.

My life’s journey inspires my work. Growing up in an alcoholic family, I’ve healed from my own childhood wounds and support my clients in doing the same. It’s impossible to grow up in trauma, and not have residual ways of surviving and coping be a part of our stories. My own healing allows me to believe in hope and the promise of a life truly worth living. Where we come from does not have to become who we are.

“My life’s journey inspires my work.”

I am no better or worse than the person who sits to the left or right of me. We are all in this thing called life together and have something to learn from and offer to each other.

My work with my clients is sacred and is my life’s purpose.

I’ve cultivated a toolkit of healthy life and coping skills and work closely with my clients to do the same. I’ve healed maladaptive patterns with food and my body, and am grateful to maintain a 130-pound weight loss for over twenty years and to also say I am sober. I deeply believe we can heal and thrive. I’ve successfully navigated divorce and co/step-parenting, and enjoy working with couples and families who want to do the same. Relationships are truly our biggest teachers in this life. For me, each life experience is an opportunity to grow and evolve, and we are gifted the ability to do so each day.

I am an enthusiastic world traveler, a community-builder and a Southerner. I am inspired by live music, love to cook and spend as much time as I can where forests meet the ocean. These experiences make me feel connected, inspired and alive. I live each day with a deep sense of wonder and gratitude. I believe that it is possible to not only heal, but to thrive in this life, and I hold sacred my life’s work to support my clients in their own unique journeys.

My counseling credentials include a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University in Los Angeles and a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from University of Santa Monica. Both my clinical and spiritual psychology training deeply inform my work. I trained at three of the most respected clinical sites in Southern California; San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, Family Service Agency of Burbank and Southern California Counseling Center and have specialized training in trauma with the Los Angeles Institute and Society of Psychoanalytic Studies.

I am passionate about Couples and Relationship Counseling as well as Sex Therapy and have advanced training with the Developmental Model from the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California, Terry Real’s Relational Life Therapy Model and numerous other modalities featured at the annual Couples Conference through the Milton H. Erickson Foundation. I also have advanced training in Sex Therapy and Consensual Non-Monogamy with The Institute for Relational Intimacy and have advanced clinical training in sexual health from the University of Michigan School of Social Work. I am also a teaching assistant for the Institute for Relational Intimacy and consider Martha Kauppi, the founder, an important teacher and mentor in my work. I consider myself a life-long student, and am committed to expanding my skill set and being the best resource I possibly can be for my clients.

I earned a Master in Business Administration from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have served in executive leadership positions for non-profits, universities and healthcare companies. I presently serve as Board President for World’s Children and am passionate about this remarkable non-profit and its mission to serve children in need around our planet. Community is important to me and I am spiritually renewed through my active engagement with the Chalice Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Conejo Valley.

My most sacred role is ‘mom’ to my young adult son who is on the autism spectrum. My life’s journey is accompanied by my two pups, Sami and Buddy, who make me laugh and fill my heart with joy!

If you are interested in exploring working with me, reach out today!

Contact Me

Colleagues’ Comments…

Compassionate Approach

“Grenda David is an exceptional psychotherapist with whom I've had the privilege of collaborating. Her insights, skill set, and compassionate approach have greatly benefited our mutual patients. I wholeheartedly recommend her expertise to anyone seeking emotional healing and growth."
— Patrick Sassoon, M.D., Center for Integrative Psychiatry
One of the Good Ones

“Grenda is committed and conscientious in her life and in her work. She brings her whole self to each session. She maintains a sense of openness and curiosity while she joins you on your journey…truly, one of the good ones.”
— Molli McIlvaine, LMFT
Insightful and Warm

“If we weren’t colleagues, I’d choose Grenda to be my therapist. She’s been “called” to do this work. She’s well educated, highly skilled and is really good at what she does. She is insightful and warm, with the ability to be direct and straightforward when it serves her clients. She also has a great sense of humor.”
— Ginny Goodwin, LMFT
Curiosity and Intelligence

“I have known Grenda for almost two years as a colleague and in an educational setting. I'm impressed with her professionalism, her vast knowledge about many different subjects and her thirst for continued growth and training. She dives into difficult issues with clients with compassion, curiosity and intelligence. I would not hesitate to refer to her.”
— Holly Herzog, LPC