Topanga, California, USA
Dr. Michael Pariser is a Mental Health Coach based in Topanga, California, whose work is focused on raising his clients’ level of emotional intelligence, enabling them to live happier, more fulfilled lives. To do so, he stresses emotional self-awareness, empathy, emotional self-management, and the development of effective interpersonal skills. In increasing those areas of competence, he helps clients discover what they want and then utilize an assertive, non-aggressive approach to getting it. From 2000 to 2020, Dr. Pariser was a psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Los Angeles, California. In 2003, he earned his Psy.D. in psychology at the California Graduate Institute, where he was later an instructor, and he became licensed as a psychologist in 2004. In 2011, he received his psychoanalytic certification and a Doctorate in Psychoanalysis from The Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, where he became a Training and Supervising Analyst and an ongoing member of the faculty.
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Part 3: Finding the Way Out: Healing Depression Through Acceptance and ConnectionSep 30, 2026
Rather than viewing it solely as a disease or chemical imbalance, I suggested that depression may begin as an emotional survival strategy, a way for children to protect themselves when hope repeatedly leads to disappointment.
Part 2: The Hidden Roots of Depression: Shame, the Inner Critic, and Personal HellSep 23, 2026
In Part 1, I proposed an idea that differs from the way depression is commonly understood. Rather than viewing depression solely as a disease or malfunction, I suggested that it may begin as an emotional survival mechanism, a way for children to protect themselves when hope repeatedly leads to disappointment.
Part 1: Depression as a Survival Mechanism: Why Your Mind May Be Trying to Protect YouSep 16, 2026
If you suffer from depression, it isn’t some sterile textbook diagnosis, it’s a living nightmare. Hopelessness settles over you like a heavy blanket. Shame whispers that you're fundamentally flawed. Loneliness convinces you that no one could possibly understand what you're experiencing. Whether these feelings come and go or never seem to leave, they create a painful inner world that can feel impossible to escape.
