• Dual Diagnosis
• Mood Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders
• Drug Abuse and Addiction
• Special Problems of Professionals
• Personality Disorders
• Age-Related Issues
• Trauma and Abuse
• Schizophrenia
• Eating Disorders
• Sleep Disorders
• Gender-Related Issues
• Medically-Related Issues
• Somatoform Disorders
• Disorders Emerging in Childhood
• Dissociative Disorders
• Sexual Dysfunctions
• Cognitive Disorders
• Paraphilias

• Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
• Psychoanalysis
• CBT
• Treatments for Bipolar Disorder
• Treatments for Depression
• Treatments for Anxiety Disorders
• Treatments for Schizophrenia
• Treatments for Schizoaffective Disorder
• Cognitive Retraining
• Dialectal Behavior Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Marital (Conjoint) Therapy
• Group Therapy

• Personality Testing
• Neuropsychological Testing
• Forensic Evaluations
• Career Testing
• SCID (DSM-IV-TR differential diagnosis)
• MMPI
• MCMI
• Exner Rorschach
• Educational Assessments
• Dementia Evaluations
• Comprehensive Assessment of Dual Diagnosed Patients
• Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation Assessment Service

• Alternative Sentencing
• Expert Witness Testifying
• Child Custody Evaluations
• Disability Evaluations
• Workers Comp Evaluations
• Education/School Advocacy

Approach to Treatment

Dr. Valone uses a contemporary psychoanalytic approach in which work with the patient unfolds as a mutual, collaborative process occurring in an atmosphere of safety, caring, and respect. The patient's problems are understood within a lifespan developmental context, with a particular emphasis on past interpersonal experiences that might help clarify current problems and concerns. An integrative, systems perspective is used in which historical, biological, cultural, interpersonal, cognitive, and emotional factors are seen as combining to form an individual's personality and sense of self. Creating a new and healthy relationship with the therapist is seen as the central reparative factor in treatment using this approach. As such, Dr. Valone attempts to be open, warm, interactive, and interested in finding ways to help encourage his patients to live the richest, fullest, most satisfying lives possible.

In addition to using this contemporary psychoanalytic approach as a foundation for the treatment relationship, Dr. Valone will actively augment psychoanalytic treatment with a variety of specialized techniques when clinically appropriate. For example, when the patient is suffering from bipolar disorder, Dr. Valone may incorporate Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, a specialized form of evidence-based treatment that has been shown in research studies to help patients who are suffering from bipolar disorder, to prolong their periods of wellness and to help prevent future episodes of illness. Dr. Valone also actively engages in psychoeducation with bipolar patients, explaining in detail about the nature of the illness, what we know about the causes and courses of bipolar disorder, the importance of medication adherence, and the various factors that are related to relapse prevention. When treating chemical dependency, Dr. Valone strongly encourages abstinence from substance use and also encourages active participation in 12-Step or other extra-therapy forms of community support to assist in maintaining sobriety.

Training

Dr. Valone attended undergraduate school at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, receiving a B.A. in Psychology and graduating Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with an emphasis on personality processes. He completed a hospital-based internship at the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at the University of California, San Francisco medical school. Dr. Valone next accepted a post- doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Psychology and the Neuropsychiatric Institute, where he conducted research on schizophrenia and family dynamics. Dr. Valone later attended the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, receiving a Psy.D. (Doctorate in Psychoanalysis) degree.

Hospital Staff Memberships, Teaching, Research, and Publications

Dr. Valone has been a member of the Active Medical Staff at Las Encinas Hospital, a private psychiatric and chemical dependency facility in Pasadena, since 1983. He is also on staff at Huntington Hospital, a major medical/surgical hospital, also located in Pasadena. He has served as the Chief of Psychology on the Medical Staff at Las Encinas Hospital as well as the Director of Psychology at Ingleside Hospital. He has taught abnormal psychology at UCLA and various courses at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and the Newport Psychoanalytic Institute. In addition, he has supervised graduate students at UCLA and Fuller Theological Seminary; both APA approved doctoral training programs in the greater Los Angeles area. Dr. Valone belongs to the American Psychological Association, the California Psychological Association, the San Gabriel Valley Psychological Association, and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Dr. Valone is also a faculty member and a senior training and supervising analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. He is also a member of the American Psychological Association, the California Psychological Association, the National Register of Health Providers in Psychology, the Association for Autonomous Psychoanalytic Institutes, and the International Society for Bipolar Disorders. Dr. Valone is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, USC. He teaches USC medical students while they are on psychiatric rotation at Las Encinas Hospital. Dr. Valone is also involved in pharmaceutical research for new psychiatric medications that are being considered for FDA approval. Dr. Valone has published several articles including research in schizophrenia and family processes, interpersonal perception, and psychoanalysis, and he has presented papers on the treatment of co-occurring disorders and hospital treatment at state and national conventions.

Concierge Care

Dr. Valone offers a concierge practice, meaning that all patients receive specialized, individualized, personalized care at all times. Details of the concierge concept are described elsewhere on this website. For those patients who may require hospital or residential care at some point during their treatment, it is particularly important to note that Dr. Valone provides seamless treatment across treatment settings. Rather than transferring care to another psychologist when care is needed beyond the outpatient office, Dr. Valone will personally admit the patient himself to hospital, manage the case himself, transfer the patient to the residential treatment facility of his choice, and ultimately return the patient to his own outpatient private practice. He is the same doctor through all levels of care. Dr. Valone also selects collaborating professionals such as psychiatrists, collaborating psychologists, internists, and other medical specialists who are also on staff at the same hospitals Dr. Valone practices at, so that continuity of care is provided for all professionals involved to the greatest degree possible. It is Dr. Valone's hope that each patient has the best, most personal, and most meaningful experience of being helped and cared for that he can possibly provide. It takes bravery and courage to see a psychologist - Dr. Valone understands this and hopes that he can gain the trust and provide the safe, secure environment for every patient so that healing and growth can take place together in a supportive, caring relationship.