ABOUT CHLOÉ CAVELIER d’ESCLAVELLES

Relationship & Trauma Therapist in Pasadena

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (#154961) specializing in trauma and dissociation recovery and attachment dynamics

Hi, I’m Chloé, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist offering therapy in Pasadena and throughout California via telehealth. I work with individuals, couples/relationships, and families. My style is warm, collaborative, and deeply attuned. I aim to meet you with compassion, curiosity, and respect for your pace (I often say, “we move at the speed of trust”). Together, we’ll explore the parts of you that feel shut down, too much, or not enough, and make room for healing and more integrated ways of being.

My approach is grounded in trauma-informed, attachment-based, and parts-oriented frameworks, drawing from Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and ego state therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR). At its core, my work helps you come home to yourself with less shame, more clarity, and deeper connection to your body, emotions, and relationships.

What It’s Like to Work With Me

When we’re in the room together, I’m attentive and engaged. We might begin with a bit of small talk as you settle in. I’m warm, smiley, and fully present. I listen closely, not only to your words, but to shifts in tone, pauses, and what’s happening in your body. I tend to notice patterns quickly, and clients often share that they feel deeply seen by the connections I remember and reflect back.

Our work is collaborative. Some sessions are reflective. Others are more focused and experiential. We might map relational cycles, explore a memory, work with different parts of you, or practice responding differently in real time. I draw on practical tools when stabilization is needed and move into deeper trauma work when you’re ready. My goal is never to push you past your limits, but to help you expand your capacity safely, with consistency, clarity, and genuine human care.

I can be soft and tender when care is needed, and gently direct when that supports growth. There’s room for laughter when things feel absurd and space to slow down when something important emerges. I’m also not attached to being “right.” If I misunderstand you, I want to know. Therapy works best when we shape meaning together, and your lived experience always guides the process. Many clients share that they discover things about themselves they never expected as we gently explore their inner and embodied experiences together.

My practice is LGBTQIA+-affirming, identity-affirming, and kink- and sex-positive. I do my best to work with individuals, couples/polycules, and families without monolithic assumptions about gender, orientation, race, ethnicity, culture, relationship structure, or sexual expression. I don’t approach therapy with a template for how your life “should” look. Instead, we collaborate around your identities, values, and preferred language while exploring your inner and relational world.

My Specialties

My areas of focus reflect my advanced training, ongoing consultation, and a deep commitment to working carefully with complex emotional and relational systems. My fees reflect that level of training, preparation, and the time I devote to each client both in and outside of sessions.

We move slowly and thoughtfully, prioritizing safety and your nervous system. This work can help you feel more present in your body, steadier inside yourself, and less governed by old survival strategies.

Whether you are in a partnership or navigating recurring relational struggles, we explore how closeness, conflict, and connection have been shaped over time and practice new ways of relating that feel more secure and honest.

You may be outwardly successful and internally exhausted, driven by high standards, constant pressure, or the fear of letting people down. We explore what fuels that push, how it connects to attachment and survival strategies, and how to build a life that includes ambition and rest, self-trust, and emotional spaciousness.

For partners or adult family members wanting deeper intimacy, better communication, or a way out of stuck cycles, we create space to understand each other more clearly and rebuild connection.

If food or emotional eating have become regular coping tools that feel misaligned with your goals, we focus on building compassion for your body, understanding what drives the cycle beneath the surface, and cultivating a steadier, more trusting relationship with eating.

Education

  • Masters of Arts in Marriage & Family Therapy, Touro University

  • Bachelor’s in Communication with Minor in Business Administration, University of Arizona

Trainings

I am a lifelong learner and regularly pursue advanced training to deepen my skills and better support my clients. By continuing to grow my “toolbox,” I aim to bring the most effective approaches and interventions to each session, tailoring them to your unique needs and goals.

This is just a handful of the trainings I have completed most relevant to the work I do.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (Basic Training in 2023); Complex Trauma and Dissociative Personality Structure with Jim Knipe (2024); Preparing Dysregulated, Dissociative, Attachment-Wounded Clients for EMDR (2024); Ongoing Consultation In Progress; Scheduled to Complete Certification in 2026
  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Externship (2024); Advanced Core Skills (2024-2025 Yearlong Cohort); Advanced Training Complete; Ongoing Consultation In Progress

  • Relational Life Therapy (2025-2026); Level 1 Training In Progress

  • Binge Eating & Chronic Dieting (2024-2026); Scheduled to Complete Certification in 2026

  • Intuitive Eating; Scheduled to Complete Certification as an Intuitive Eating Counselor in 2026

  • Monogamism: Disrupting Mononormative Bias in Sex Therapy and Relationship Counseling; Common Presenting Issues in Consensual Non-Monogamy; Queer Affirming Sex Therapy (2025-2026); Ongoing Consultation in Affirming/Inclusive Sex & Relationship Therapy as Needed

  • Complete Internal Family Systems Therapy Immersion: Integrating IFS Model Across Clinical Applications (2024); IFS & Polyvagal Theory: Healing Through Compassionate Connection (2024); Special Topics in IFS (2024); Healing Traumatic Wounds, & Alleviating Anxiety, Depression, and Addiction with Internal Family Systems (2023)

  • Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dr. Dan Siegel of Mindsight Institute (2024); Advanced Training Certificate Complete

  • Ego State Therapy Interventions Training & Consultation with Robin Shapiro (2024); EMDR & Ego States with Kase & Co. (2024)

  • Working with Dissociative Identity Disorder from Pasadena Trauma Therapy (2024); Dissociation-Focused Trauma Treatment: IFS, Somatic, CBT, EMDR, & Polyvagal Strategies (2024)

  • Integrative Polyvagal Theory for Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, & Attachment (2024)

  • Trauma & The Body with Pasadena Trauma Therapy (2024)

  • Flash Technique (2024)

  • Healing from Affairs: Moving Past the Trauma of Betrayal & Infidelity (2023)

  • Suicide Assessment & Intervention (2023, 2024)

  • Ecotherapy (The Retreat at Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2022); Advanced Training Certificate Complete

Affiliations & Memberships

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
– Maya Angelou

I believe therapy should make room for the full complexity of being human, the pain and the mess, yes, but also the humor, tenderness, and longing for something more. Rather than focusing only on managing symptoms, I care about helping you understand yourself more deeply and find new ways of relating to yourself and the people in your life. Together, we slow things down, get curious about your story, and work toward a life that feels more grounded, connected, and meaningful.

If you’re longing for that kind of change, I’d be honored to walk alongside you.