Dr. Vincent Barbieri is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in San Diego, California. He owns a private therapy practice and works with adults and adolescents, specializing in treatment of general anxiety, social anxiety, and depressive disorders in addition to trauma, grief, relationship conflict, and Borderline Personality Disorder.
My philosophy in therapy is to believe every emotion and be curious about every thought. I take this job very seriously but I am seldom a serious person; therapy can be an enjoyable experience and simultaneously life-enriching if you are willing to do the work. There is no limit to your progress if you can find a way to be kind to yourself.
Get To Know my style
It is my opinion that having a compatible therapy style with clients is of the utmost importance for treatment success. My therapeutic style is direct and compassionate, jargon-free and analogy-strong, often using humor and irreverence when appropriate in session. Authenticity is my most important value as a clinician - I am the same person both inside and outside of the office.
Below is a clip of me talking about navigating anger with fellow psychologist Dr. Jacob Ambrose on our podcast where we talk about all things therapy. This podcast was partly created to give clients an opportunity to gauge goodness-of-fit prior to meeting. Please click on the “Therapy Podcast” tab for additional clips. If you think we could be a good fit, please book a free 15 minute consultation by clicking on the button at the top of this page.
Background & Expertise
Dr. Barbieri received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from American University in 2022 where he was formally trained for 5 years in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) at The Wake Kendall Group, a DBT-Linehan Board Certified DBT Program located in Washington, D.C. While Dr. Barbieri is trained in DBT, his primary approach is more psychodynamic and relational - he believes thoughts and beliefs are byproducts of past experiences that shaped our worldview - however sometimes those beliefs no longer are serving a function in our present lives. Understanding what those beliefs are and how they are informing our perception of the present is the first step in changing our current experience. Investigating the past is only helpful if it is hindering your present. His style pulls from many different therapeutic treatments such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rogerian Therapy, and Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT).
Prior to receiving his PhD, Dr. Barbieri was a research coordinator at Columbia University’s Substance Treatment and Research Service and received a Master of Arts in the Clinical Psychology program at Columbia University in 2014. He has participated in a number of research labs primarily focused on studying emotions, first at Georgetown University’s Culture and Emotions Lab, then at Columbia University’s Loss, Trauma and Emotion Lab, followed by American University’s Interpersonal Emotion Lab where he researched the emotional components of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Education:
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, American University, 2022
M.A. Clinical Psychology, American University, 2018
M.A. Psychology in Education, Columbia University, 2014
B.A. Psychology, Georgetown University, 2012