Marjorie Schuman, PhD

At Marjorie Schuman, Ph. D, we are dedicated to cultivating intimacy with the self and others by deepening emotional understanding. We believe that the problems we experience in our relationships with others are a significant source of pain in human life. Our central focus is to help individuals explore their unique life experience and make sense of their difficulties in a way that is both deeply meaningful and healing.

Inquiring Deeply

The core of our practice is self-reflection, which involves looking deep within. We call this practice "Inquiring Deeply, " and it is the essential nature of our work. We believe that understanding how the process of inquiry can be used to explore our deep questions and illuminate how the experience of Self and Other is involved in emotional pain and relational suffering is the leading edge of this work.

"Inquiring Deeply" is a self-reflective awareness practice that combines psychoanalysis and Buddhist insight meditation (Vipassana). Our approach involves deepening your understanding of your emotional life by exploring your relationship with others. This exploration helps you cultivate self-awareness and, in turn, leads to more harmonious relationships with others.

Self-Intimacy and Inquiry

At Marjorie Schuman, Ph. D, we believe that self-intimacy is essential for being sufficiently intimate with others. Self-intimacy means feeling connected to all parts of ourselves and the full range of our experiences, even those parts that we may dislike or that make us feel uncomfortable, ashamed, or vulnerable. We employ the practice of asking questions systematically, which we call inquiry. Inquiry is not the same as analyzing or thinking about a question. As an awareness practice, inquiry means to live in the question of something, to consciously engage our experience in a way that invites it to unfold.

Mindful Dynamic Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a crucial part of our practice at Marjorie Schuman, Ph. D. It is a dialogue that helps you deepen your understanding of your emotional experience. We use mindful dynamic psychotherapy, which helps you gain insight into the psychological and relational forces that have shaped who you are. Our approach digs down to the interpersonal roots of what is bothering you, helping you gain insight into the psychological and relational forces that have shaped who you are.

Teaching, Consultation, and Publications

In addition to our clinical practice, we teach and do clinical consultation with a focus on Inquiring Deeply and mindfulness-informed psychotherapy. We also offer a webinar that explores how the experience of Self and Other is involved in emotional pain and relational suffering. Our practice is grounded in years of study, practice, and experience. Dr. Schuman has a Ph. D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and postdoctoral work from the Dept of Psychiatry at UCLA. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in California (PSY5593); a certified psychoanalyst and faculty at the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies; and a graduate of the Community Dharma Leader program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

At Marjorie Schuman, Ph. D, we believe that deep self-inquiry is part of our essential nature. We are committed to both "working on ourselves" and learning how to help others. We invite you to explore our website, subscribe to our newsletter, and reach out to us for an appointment.