Therapists for college students near San Diego, CA
Are you going through a difficult time? Is it tough to get yourself out of bed in the morning and start the day? Feeling overwhelmed, sad, or anxious that it's difficult to concentrate on daily tasks. Please know that you are at the right place. Your life does not have to stay this way and we can work together to get you back in control of your life. The peaks and valleys will not be as drastic anymore. The cloud over your head will no longer follow you throughout the day. Together we will work on controlling your emotions rather than your emotions controlling you. As an Asian American, raised in a culture where mental illness was looked down upon and was not spoken about. My mission as a provider is to help destigmatize mental health and open the door to talk about symptoms related to depression, mood disorders, PTSD, and stress. I am here to help, empathize, and connect with you to take on this journey in confidence.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Welcome! Thank you for taking the time to be here. I know that struggling with anxiety is exhausting. You're awake at night and your body can't relax. You feel exhausted and tired on a regular basis. On the outside you seem successful, but on the inside you want to scream from all the pressure and feel stuck. Your relationships are also not where you want it to be - feeling disconnected, struggling with the same issues, and the thought that something’s missing. You want things to change, but don't know how to get there.
I help teens and adults who struggle to connect or communicate with their parents, friends or partners. They might spend too much time on social media, struggle to feel good about themselves, have low self-esteem, have a hard time with setting boundaries, or struggle to put their needs before others. They might date people they wish they didn’t, but don’t know how to end things, or stop patterns of behavior. They may struggle with managing school life, work life, home life or social life. I enjoy working with these clients and helping them find ways to have a better and more balanced life. I can help you by making you feel comfortable and safe in my office to tell me anything that weighs on you, or keeps you up at night. I will provide you a judgement-free space where you can talk, yell, swear, laugh or cry through the many emotions, and ups and downs that get thrown at you in life. I can also hype you up and hold you accountable. Quit second guessing yourself that you "don't really need therapy", or that things really "aren't that bad." You don't need to justify needing additional support right now. Sometimes simply talking to someone once a week is all we need to feel better, and you deserve to feel better. You deserve to feel heard, understood and validated.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
I am a licensed clinical social worker with many years of experience working with adults, adolescents, children, and families. I know that change is hard and seeking support is brave. It is a privilege to be alongside you in your journey towards becoming the person you want to be and living the life you want to live. Our therapy will be a space where it is okay to show up as your authentic self and share your feelings. We will collaborate to identify and work towards the changes you want to see in your life, brainstorm ways to overcome patterns you may feel stuck in, and support you in gaining the insight needed to foster progress. I have experience supporting clients with anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, perfectionism, school and work stress, self-esteem, attachment, and interpersonal and family relationships. My approach aims to be relational, strength-based, and trauma-informed. I strive to bring empathy, humor, and a nonjudgmental approach to the therapy space to support you in your journey. I use an integrative, holistic approach that pulls from different therapeutic specialties that we will tailor specifically to your identified wants and needs - such as narrative therapy, family systems, mind-body connection, solution-focused, and emotion and person-centered.
Hella Good Therapy is a California-based Telehealth psychotherapy practice focused on queering and decolonizing the therapeutic process. We specialize in LGBTq+ identities and folks practicing non-monogamy. Most of our clients are "high functioning" but feel like a hot mess inside - dealing with crippling self-doubt, anxiety, and relational distress.
People I work with often are starting out in therapy or interested in moving towards trauma work. If you're interested in learning how to slow it down, use mindfulness, or feel more connected to your body, I utilize narrative and somatic techniques to help people reclaim their peace, energy, and rest. As an Asian-Mexican-American psychotherapist, I enjoy helping people learn more about connecting to ancestry, spirituality, community healing and peer support resources that remind us we are all connected. When I'm not doing therapy I love going to the beach, writing, camping/hiking/backpacking, and traveling.
Life can be many things—colorfully painful, beautifully complicated, and at times, completely overwhelming. And it doesn’t come with a how-to guide. We all experience complicated twists and unexpected turns that cause sadness, worry, anger, and destructive patterns with food, drugs, alcohol, and within our closest relationships. I help children, adults, families, and couples break free from unhealthy cycles, rewrite their life narratives, and make changes to create a life truly worth living. Our lives are too short to lose precious time to unhappiness, feeling hopeless, and being “stuck” in the same vicious cycles. Through therapy, I can help you create a richer, more meaningful and fulfilling life for yourself, your family, and your relationships.
Adjusting to college can be overwhelming. Even though this is a life event that is planned, it can still be a culture shock for many. Making new friends, adjusting to a different type of structure, and being away from family and loved ones for the first time can increase feelings of anxiety. You might find yourself over-analyzing your social interactions with your peers in a way that you didn't do with your childhood friends whom you've known for the majority of your life, or maybe you are having a hard time managing your class schedule and assignments when school came easy to you in the past. Whatever may be coming up for you, I am here to support you. We will work together to develop helpful coping skills to manage feelings of stress and anxiety, calm the negative self-talk that often comes with increased stress, and process your recent life transition in order to feel more at ease with the change. My approach is warm, casual, and strength-based. I use gentle and validating conversation to help improve your confidence, challenge your inner-critic when it tries to take over, and make you feel empowered to take your anxiety head-on. Finding a therapist and making the initial step to start therapy can be intimidating and overwhelming. I invite you to contact me for a free initial consultation so I can answer your questions, address any worries or concerns about therapy, and ensure my therapy style is what you are looking for.
First, I strive to create a safe environment where the client feels heard, understood and supported. The compassionate use of 'unconditional positive regard' guides my work. This is a well proven healing factor in the therapeutic relationship. I believe my clients grow strongest by finding their own path through their unique inner landscape I have a very diverse background as a therapist. In my early years I counseled teenagers in group homes. This gave me the chance to develop an open and accepting style. I learned a great deal about varied adolescent experiences. The longest period of my professional career I worked as a psychotherapist with a large health organization serving all ages. From toddlers to senior citizens I tried carefully to connect with each one and help them resolve a wide range of life challenges.
Therapy is about learning to love yourself and grow despite your mistakes. It is about finding the joy in giving without expecting anything in return. It is about welcoming your struggles with the same strength and enthusiasm that you welcome your victories, for it is through our struggles that we grow. Healthy Minds Counseling Services will help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. If you're looking for extra support and guidance through a challenging situation or you're just ready to move towards a new direction in your life, we look forward to working with you to achieve your goals. Today you are one step closer to a new you where you feeling empowered to grow and be on a positive path to an overall well-being.
Feeling stuck and empty? Worrying about relationships and feeling lonely? Anxiety and sadness? Overeating, using drugs or alcohol to cope? You are not alone and we can help. Individuals, couples, families. Ages 16 to adult.
I believe exploring the narratives of an individual and highlighting points of resiliency can empower and increase personal morale for those he works with. collaboratively. I utilizes a variety of other interventions as clinically indicated. While I specialize in working with children, teens, transitional age youths, and families of color, I have continued to provide therapeutic support to people of all walks of life, in the communities that I serve. I have been a volunteer bereavement counselor for children & teens for many years and have extensive education, training and clinical experience in this area. I am also passionate about foster care on the non-profit side, actively creating change within the system through advocacy and creating spaces for continued conversations, for the marginalized teens.
I have been working in the mental health/social services field since 1996 in varying capacities. I was a social worker with the County of San Diego in Child Protective Services, first as a case manager, where I worked in a specialized unit with long-term foster children who had mental health diagnoses. I became a kind of “specialist” in attachment and bonding, and grief and loss issues, as well as issues with identity, be it racial, gender, or other identifications. After taking early retirement from the County in 2011, I decided to focus on the mental health side of social services. I took a job as a therapist and a discharge coordinator at a mental health crisis house, and then as a care manager for patients at inpatient psychiatric facilities for various insurance companies. In August 2013, I finally achieved a long-term dream and opened up my private practice where I continue to be delighted with the creativity and innovation, as well as the diversity of the people I meet every day.
Hello, my name is Heather Pederson. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in San Diego and am so glad you are here. Seeking help can potentially feel daunting, exposing, and overwhelming. It can also be our first steps toward repair, healing, and growth. I have found that people are so very strong, courageous, and hard-working, and still need some help when things get hard. I believe therapy can be a unique chance to discover parts of ourselves we forgot about, allow healing for the tender parts, and find new ways of interacting with ourselves and our loved ones that allow for deeper understanding and connection. I work with individuals and couples who often struggle with: a feeling of something between angry, sad, and fear that doesn’t have a name, as well as feelings of overwhelm, worry and stress that gets between them and their preferred lives. I seek to create opportunities in therapy to connect more deeply with the truest parts of yourself so that you can then connect more deeply with your purpose, values, and trusted others. I am trained in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (Externship with Sue Johnson, Core Skills to become Certified in progress), a Certified Prepare/Enrich facilitator, Trauma Informed Care, and a graduate of Bethel Seminary San Diego with an M.A. in Marital and Family Therapy. Please contact me with any questions you might have regarding therapy. I work with college students (extensive experience working on college campuses), couples, individuals, premarital/pre-engagement, relational distress, trauma, and anxiety.
Are you a first generation college student? This can be a big life transition and you may experience unexpected challenges, can feel isolating or maybe academic stress feels like too much. College life can be full of expectations and a rollercoaster of emotions. You don't have to do this alone, I am here yo support you!