About Me
Kiel MᶜFarland, PsyD
Therapy For Trauma, Identity, And Spirituality
My work is grounded in understanding how people are shaped by many layers, not just one issue, one identity, or one moment.
Are your experiences complex, and hard to explain in a single sentence?
Have you tried to make sense of things, but still feel stuck in the same patterns?
Many of the people I work with are thoughtful, self-aware, yet still struggle with anxiety, relationships, identity, or past experiences that show up in the present.
Therapy with me is about connecting the dots so your life makes more sense, and change becomes possible.
My Specialties
Complex trauma
Religious trauma
LGBTQ+ identity
Spirituality and faith
Identity exploration
Relationship patterns
Availability: I work with clients in person in Monrovia, Calif. and via Telehealth across California.
My Approach
My approach is shaped by both deep clinical training and lived experience, allowing me to work with complexity without oversimplifying your story.
Therapy with me is active, direct, and collaborative. I will support you, and I will also challenge you when it helps you move forward.
We’ll look at how your past is shaping your present, while also building practical tools you can use in your daily life. A big part of this process is helping you see connections that haven’t been clear before.
This work can be serious, and it can also include humor. Clients often tell me they feel lighter as we go and more grateful for their lives.
My Background
I trained as a psychologist while also completing advanced theological work, and I bring both lenses into therapy.
As a transgender man who trained in a Christian institution, I understand what it means to live at the intersection of different systems and expectations.
Outside of therapy, I have been married for 24 years and have a college-age child. I enjoy creative writing, crafting, and games like DnD and LARPing.
Education, Credentials, & Trainings
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, PSY36222
PsyD in Clinical Psychology, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, APA Accredited
Culture and Community Psychology track
MA in Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary
MA in Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary
PhD in Theology, in progress, Fuller Theological Seminary
Arts and Spirituality emphasis
BA and AA in Studio Arts with Honors
APA Accredited Doctoral Training & Internship
Post-Doctoral Psychodynamic focused program
LGBTQ+ emphasis
Member, Glendale Area Mental Health Professionals Association
What’s a “temenos well”?
From Wikipedia:
A temenos (Greek: τέμενος; plural: τεμένη, temenē)[1] is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs,, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy grove, or holy precinct.[2][3]
Carl Jung applied this word to psychology, imagining the temenos to be a place that is set apart from everyday life, where a person is safe to explore the sacred and hidden parts of their unconscious.[16]
For Dr. Kiel, the name Temenos symbolizes a therapeutic time and place that is intentionally different from normal life; a physical and emotional refuge for clients to find healing and discover their true selves. The name calls for privacy and safety, as well as respecting an encounter with the deepest parts of human experience, an encounter that often feels holy.
The name also includes "Well," which holds multiple meanings. First, it symbolizes a water well that can be dipped into for emotional nourishment and healing, be it a well of the client's past, hidden passions, or deep feelings, or the well of resources in the expertise and care coming from Dr. Kiel. The Well can be taken to mean a well of wellness itself, where clients can dig deeply into what wellness really means for them in their own unique context.
While the word temenos has religious connotations, the term "sacred" itself can simply mean "to be set apart." Sacred moments of beauty and healing can be found in the wonder of a butterfly drinking a dewdrop, just as easily as it can be found in ancient rituals of religion.
If you are atheist, religious or spiritual, searching, or don't really care,
you still can find healing, meaning, beauty, and joy in this world.