Therapists for college students near San Diego, CA
Hi! I am Jen and welcome to my page. For over 15 years, I’ve worked in mental health across clinics, schools, and private practice, supporting teens, young adults, and adults in navigating life’s challenges. My passion lies in helping people build the tools, insight, and confidence they need to move through difficult times and create meaningful change. I specialize in working with individuals who are experiencing: Anxiety and panic Depression and low motivation Social anxiety and performance fears Attachment and relationship difficulties Life transitions and identity changes. My approach is collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in evidence-based practices. I draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients identify and shift unhelpful thinking patterns, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support values-based living, and trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to reduce anxiety through gradual, supported exposure. I also integrate attachment-focused strategies to help clients strengthen their self-worth, communication skills, and ability to create secure, healthy relationships. In our sessions, you can expect a safe, nonjudgmental space where we’ll work together to clarify your goals, develop practical coping skills, and address the underlying patterns that may be keeping you stuck. Whether you’re facing overwhelming stress, struggling with self-esteem, or feeling disconnected from yourself or others, I’m here to help you find a path forward. If you’re ready to take the next step toward change, I look forward to walking alongside you on your journey.
Professional Introduction for College Students Hello! I am a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) dedicated to supporting students as they navigate the unique pressures of academic life. I earned my Master's degree in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing with honors from Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and I am passionate about providing a safe, transparent, non-judgmental space for the student community. College is a period of immense growth, but it can also bring significant challenges. Whether you are dealing with the weight of depression, the persistent pull of anxiety, the challenges of ADHD, the complexities of PTSD, or struggles with substance use (SUD), please know that you do not have to face these hurdles alone. My approach is centered on dignity, efficacy, and equity, ensuring that your individual identity, values, and cultural background are always honored. I offer comprehensive, evidence-based care that integrates both psychotherapy and medication management to help you achieve optimal health and academic success. My goal is to empower you with the tools and support needed to recover and thrive during your college journey and beyond.
Hi, I'm Shari, I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I believe that prioritizing your mental health is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself. With over 7 years of experience, I provide an affirming, empowering, and solution-oriented approach tailored to your unique needs. My goal is to create a warm, nonjudgmental space where you feel supported as we work together to build on your strengths, overcome challenges, and create meaningful, lasting change. I believe therapy is a collaborative process, and you are the expert on your own life. My approach is affirming, empowering, and solution-oriented, helping you build on your strengths while developing practical tools to navigate life's challenges. I tailor each session to your unique goals and needs, drawing from evidence-based approaches. I strive to create a warm, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment where you feel comfortable sharing at your own pace. We'll also begin working on the concerns that brought you to therapy, so you can leave with practical insights, strategies, and a clear path forward.
I’m inspired on a daily basis when I witness the transformative power therapy. I have a deep desire to help, and make a positive impact on the lives of others. It’s important for me to establish a safe and trusting environment where you feel heard, understood, respected, so we can foster a sense of collaboration to facilitate healing and positive change. I do this by meeting you where you currently are in your life and utilizing evidence-based approaches to therapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, plus Mindfulness, to process through anxiety, depression, relationship problems, life transitions, self-improvement, and career related stress. The therapeutic relationship is one of the most important things in therapy. I build trust and strength in the relationship through empathy and listening. I make a great effort to get an understanding of your personal story and how it may be currently impacting you, while being supportive and validating.
Melanie invites you to explore and embrace all the parts of who you are, recognizing that your intersecting identities shape your experiences and the way you interact with the world. She takes a thoughtful, down-to-earth, and at times, direct approach that blends working toward meaningful goals with staying present. With warmth, honesty, and just the right dose of humor, she creates a space where you feel safe enough to risk vulnerability. You might benefit from working with Melanie if: - You're facing a big change, like a breakup, a move, a new job, or a loss, and feeling untethered. - You've achieved a lot, but continue to be plagued by anxiety, depression, burnout, and self-doubt. - You're an athlete, artist, or high performer, whose inner life doesn't match your outer success. - You're processing trauma or childhood experiences that still impact you today. - You want support managing stress, emotion dysregulation, and executive dysfunction. - You're tired and frustrated by not getting what you want out of your relationships. - You wish you could set appropriate boundaries, find the words to articulate the internal workings of your mind, and have the confidence to express your needs.
Having had the pleasure of working with college students at Santa Clara University, SJSU, and UCLA, I help people feel better by addressing the specific concerns that bring them to therapy. I aim to listen carefully and offer a safe space to explore what’s on your mind, with the goal of helping you get what you want from therapy and feel more like yourself again. My work often focuses on relieving emotional distress, deepening connection to one’s feelings, gaining insight into recurring challenges, and fostering a greater sense of self-alignment and vitality. I've had the opportunity to help folks address many challenges in therapy from anxiety, depression, loss, and relationship challenges to questions about one's identity, life transitions, and processing difficult experiences from childhood. This approach to therapy is called psychodynamic. In my approach, I incorporate many principles from AEDP and have also been trained in other modalities such as CBT, ACT, and DBT. I sometimes draw from these modalities when someone may want to develop coping skills to deal with life’s ups and downs as they work towards their goals for therapy. I also welcome people to bring up issues of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, pertinent political issues as well as any other aspects of their culture or themselves they wish to share, explore, or better understand in therapy.
I support students who are experiencing stress, both academically and interpersonally. I recognize the layers of pressure that may be coming from family, peers, and yourself. School can be a challenging environment and finding support is not always easy. I provide a space to be heard and for you to process anything that's on your mind. I am warm and nonjudgmental.
I work best with college students who are starting to notice how perfectionism, people-pleasing, or pressure to achieve affects their mental health. Many grew up feeling like they had to be “the strong one” or keep the peace at home, and now those same patterns show up in school, relationships, or self-worth. They’re ready to understand themselves better, heal from the past, and feel more grounded in who they are.
Allowing others to feel heard, understood, and valued is very important to me. I feel everyone deserves to be met with compassion and empathy, especially when seeking support. While it’s not my place to give advice, I will always ensure that the therapy space is safe to explore thoughts, ideas, and feelings in a way that feels supportive and non-judgmental. I will push and challenge when needed, as a way to support growth and positive change. I’ll follow you and want you want to work on. I’ll provide direction as needed, but ultimately you’re the one that decides what therapy is about, given it falls within my scope of practice. My style will fluctuate based on your needs; I’m a bit “loosey-goosey”, but I’ve found that it helps me work with lots of different people and meet a variety of needs!
I specialize in therapy for neurodivergent adults — particularly those with ADHD or autism diagnosed later in life — who are navigating burnout, confusion about how their mind works, repeating relationship patterns, or substance use that once helped but now contributes to stress. I also work with trauma, mood concerns, and co-occurring challenges that intersect with neurodivergence. My approach is assessment-informed and collaborative, combining insight with practical tools to help you understand yourself more deeply and build meaningful, sustainable change.
I specialize in supporting adults, teens and children struggling with anxiety, trauma, and patterns of people-pleasing or overthinking. Using a compassionate, person-centered approach, I help you build healthy coping skills, process difficult experiences, and create healthier relationships with yourself and others. Together, we’ll work to help you find peace and confidence. Starting therapy can feel overwhelming, but you're already showing strength by exploring your options. You deserve support, healing, and a space where you feel heard. I offer virtual individual therapy for clients in California, providing compassionate care tailored to your needs. If you're ready to take the next step toward healing, I’m here to help. Clark Family Counseling Center is a safe space for you to heal emotional patterns and behaviors so you become the best version of yourself. Book your therapy appointment today.
I am so happy you have found my page. I want to start off by recognizing the bravery it has taken to bring you this far. Starting something always feels the heaviest- especially when it comes to your mental health. I look forward to being part of your journey, supporting you with managing your symptoms, and helping you to create a fulfilling life.
I see adults, adolescents, and couples experiencing high levels of stress, interpersonal conflict, difficult family dynamics, and chronic pain or illness. In treatment, I attune to the ways culture, attachment, and trauma influence a person's life. I often work with people who feel "different" and who have experienced deep feelings of otherness. I aim to create a safe space that invites curiosity and creativity, where talking about emotionally-painful topics doesn't feel so unbearable. If you'd like to explore the possibility of working together, please contact me to schedule a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation.
We provide psychological testing and therapy to ages 1 and up. Specialize in ADHD and anxiety for all ages. Use mostly evidence based approaches.
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who believes therapy works best when you feel truly seen and understood. I meet clients where they are and provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space to explore life’s challenges. My work focuses on helping clients process stressors, navigate difficult experiences, and move toward meaningful personal growth. My approach is compassionate, open-minded, and flexible. I work collaboratively with clients to find practical, meaningful solutions while also creating space for deeper reflection. I can be both straightforward and grounded when needed, while also using metaphor and insight to help clients better understand themselves and their experiences. In our first session, you can expect a relaxed and supportive environment where we focus on getting to know you—your story, your goals, and what brings you to therapy. We’ll begin identifying what you’d like to work on and start building a plan that feels manageable and aligned with where you are, helping you move forward at your own pace.
Struggling with navigating life, managing in a world that may feel overwhelming, and still managing to get up every day, looking to better yourself and your relationships? You may struggle with anxiety or depression, confusion or stress due to a whole host of reasons. Infidelity, infertility, body image, low self-worth, lack of confidence, existential crises, unhealthy coping mechanisms, narcissistic moms, everyday stressors and life transitions. Anything sound familiar? You may feel isolated and alone. Don’t worry. You’re not! You are unique, but you are not alone. Many many people struggle with these things and come to learn how to live differently.
Hi, I’m Mojdeh. I am an Iranian-American therapist and a child of immigrant parents. I witnessed my parents experiencing their feelings of grief as they lived far from family, friends, and their native country. As a bicultural kid, I faced challenges integrating both of my cultures and experienced racism as I navigated the world. As an Iranian woman, I deeply understand the experience of not being seen, heard, or included. I am aware of the under-representation of BIPOC clients and therapists in the therapy room. This has led me to want to connect with clients who have been historically oppressed. In our work together, we can begin the process of examining systemic issues, advocating for social change and healing ancestral & intergenerational trauma.
I would share it has been a life-long desire and practice to participate in the personal growth of youth and adults. I would share my life experience in teaching, community, and faith-based service. I would share this thought… “the words silent and listen have the same letters, sometimes it can most effective to do both in order to be heard and understood.” I would share that working together is most profitable when it is a TEAM effort and boundaries and respect are foundational. I would also remind the client that achieving their desired goals, building trust and a healthy alliance, is a process.
Graduate school strains every internal system you have. The pressure to produce, the unspoken competition, the isolation, the feeling that everyone else is coping better than you—these are not small stressors. They shape how you see yourself, how you work, and how you relate to the people around you. Bay Psychology Group works with the parts of this experience that don’t show up on intake forms: the private self-doubt, the stalled motivation, the fear of failing publicly, the difficulty sustaining relationships while carrying a heavy intellectual load, the exhaustion of managing family expectations, cultural pressures, or the reality of being far from home. Our approach is slow, steady, and built for depth. We look closely at the patterns that keep you stuck—how you respond to stress, how you manage ambition, how you treat yourself internally—and we do this in a consistent therapeutic relationship where those patterns can actually shift. Many of our patients are international students, first-generation professionals, scientists, artists, doctors, and LGBTQIA students who carry layers of complexity no short-term model can address. We offer the kind of work that helps you understand why you feel the way you do, not just how to get through the next deadline. Therapy is available in English and Mandarin. In-person sessions take place in Oakland; telehealth is available throughout California.