Therapists for college students near UCLA
If you are reading this you are likely ready for a shift or change in your life. How to proceed in creating a more satisfying life is often confusing, but it is possible. If we listen deeply and compassionately enough to the wisdom of our body and mind the obstacles to our wholeness can become the catalysts of deeper awareness, meaning, agency and fulfillment. I aim to help you explore both the known and unknown parts of yourself so that you can more easily navigate your inner world, your relationships with others and the complex demands of being human.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Hi, I am Anna McDonald. I am a licensed clinical social worker specializing in assisting individuals and couples to work through life's conflicts. I do so through a multi-faceted approach, focusing first on the unique strengths of my clients and then collaborating with them to be empowered and move through these challenges. Therapy with me is more than just, “How does that make you feel?” and nodding my head. Instead, I am an individual working to empower my clients with research-based knowledge to improve their life conditions.
Peace-It-Together Counseling Agency provides prevention and intervention counseling services to at-risk youth and offers affordable mental health care services to vulnerable populations in our community. We recognize many people do not have the necessary insurance to seek mental health services. PIT intentionally offers lower fee counseling to individuals, children, teens, families, couples, and the older-aging population to help those who would not ordinarily be able to afford counseling. We make our services affordable by offering them on a sliding scale based on your income. The Peace-It-Together staff knows the unique stressors students carry as many of our staff are also students. Our counselors can provide students with stress reduction strategies to help with school performance anxiety and other school-related stressors. Juggling work, school, and relationships can be overwhelming at times. Our staff is here to help support you and listen to your concerns. We can offer interventions to help you thrive.
Whether you are feeling stuck, in a transition, or seeking support to heal previous trauma's that are holding you back to evolving from your best self, I am here to support and guide you. Maybe life threw you a curve ball or treated you unfairly, or you just want a space to grow as an individual. Regardless of your circumstances, I am here to hear and heal from your story. Your story deserves to be heard! I provide tele-therapy services for those who live in California using a HIPPA compliant platform and I currently have availability for in person therapy in Campbell, CA. I also am EMDR trained and currently receiving supervision to become certified. I currently have openings on Tuesday-Friday between 4:30 - 7:30pm for tele-therapy services.
As a therapist, I’m here to be supportive of your goals and help you feel confident in taking your next step towards rediscovering you. I believe in being authentic and invite you to come as you are by being your true self. I’ll help challenge your perspective and reframe any unhelpful thinking that may be getting in the way of your life. Life is already difficult with enough uncertainty in the world, but having a safe place to talk freely about yourself and the things that impact you is greatly needed. My clients are typically women, BIPOC, LGBTQ and others that are looking for a place to take the mask off, improve their self-identity and esteem, improve their relationships, and take steps toward building the best versions of themselves.
***Currently serving individuals in California and Oregon*** Hello! My name is Carlota, and I am a social justice advocate; a believer in science; a fierce and overly-obsessed dog mom to two wacky pups; an immigrant; and steadfast in my conviction that we have a fundamental obligation to help one another if we have the means and capacity to do so. I am a licensed clinical social worker, and have been in practice since 2013. I completed my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in 2008, and received my Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2013 from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. I embrace evidence-based and research-supported therapies, while also honoring the power of the therapeutic relationship and process. I specialize in trauma and PTSD, depression, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, interpersonal difficulties, and life transitions. I am a trained teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and am certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD and Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT-D). I also have extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) for Bipolar Disorder, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for the treatment of PTSD in children and teens. Why might I be a good fit for you? Because I get it, and I am whole-heartedly with you on this journey. I know that coming to therapy is a profound undertaking, and that what I will ask of you in this process is not easy. Introspection, change, and confronting avoidance are hard, and so I strive to provide a safe, authentic, and collaborative environment that honors your story, experience, and identity with compassion and without judgment; I strive to be worthy of bearing witness to your story. ***Sirviendo a personas ubicadas en California y Oregón*** ¡Hola! Mi nombre es Carlota, y soy amante de la justicia social; una creyente en la ciencia; una mamá de dos perritos excéntricos; una inmigrante; y firme en mi convicción de que tenemos la obligación de ayudarnos unos a otros si tenemos los medios y la capacidad para hacerlo. Soy una trabajadora social, y he estado en práctica desde 2013. Me gradué de UC Berkeley en el 2008, y recibí mi Maestría en Trabajo Social (MSW) en el 2013 de la Universidad de Washington en San Louis. Acepto las terapias basadas en la evidencia y respaldadas por la investigación, al mismo tiempo que honro el poder de la relación y el proceso terapéutico. Me especializo en trauma, depresión, el trastorno bipolar, ansiedad y pánico, duelo y pérdida, dificultades interpersonales, y transiciones de vida. Soy una maestra capacitada en Reducción del Estrés Basado en Mindfulness (MBSR), y estoy certificada en Terapia de Procesamiento Cognitivo (CPT) para el trastorno de estrés postraumático y Psicoterapia Interpersonal para la Depresión (IPT-D). También tengo una amplia entrenamiento en Terapia Dialéctica Conductual (DBT), Terapia Interpersonal y de Ritmo Social (IPSRT) para el trastorno bipolar, y Terapia Cognitiva Conductual Centrada en el Trauma (TF-CBT) para el tratamiento del trastorno de estrés postraumático en niños y adolescentes. ¿Por qué podría ser una buena opción para ti? Porque pongo todo mi corazón para estar contigo en este viaje. Sé que venir a terapia es una empresa profunda y que lo que te voy a pedir en este proceso no es fácil. La introspección, el cambio, y la confrontación de la evitación son difíciles, y espero proveer un entorno seguro, auténtico, y colaborativo que honre su historia, experiencia, e identidad con compasión y sin juzgar; me esfuerzo por ser digno de ser testigo de tu historia.
My practice integrates relational psychodynamic and politicized somatic lineages and I love working with survivors of trauma, queer community, neurodivergent community, young adults, social justice organizers, artists, deep feelers, and outsiders.
I am a licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist who provides psychotherapy to individual adults. My approach to treatment is empathic, collaborative, holistic, and in-depth. My style is warm, engaging and interactive. My goal is to help you heal as well as to find greater authenticity, purpose and meaning in life. I have a deep respect for personal suffering and an abiding faith in the process of psychotherapy to help us heal. When needed, I offer medication in the context of ongoing therapy. *Video sessions only at this time
Welcome to my practice. I am a trauma-informed therapist who works with clients of various backgrounds. I specialize in working with clients with OCD, BPD, ADHD, and anxiety. As a neurodivergent individual, I strongly believe in being a neurodiversity affirming therapist, and constantly seek to educate myself on how to best support my clients who are neurodivergent. I believe in working collaboratively with my clients as we navigate the individual and collective challenges that they face in their lives. Reach out to me to schedule an initial consultation!
Welcome! I have worked with college students for the better part of 20 years. I spent almost a decade working in a university counseling center and continue to partner with several local colleges as both an off- campus referral source and consultant to their campus communities. Counseling is all about the right fit, so feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk more about my practice and whether I could be of help to your situation!
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Many people experience adversity, wondering what happened in their life. They may have difficulty navigating relationships, question their gender identity, or feel under pressure at school or work, unsure of how to make it through the day. Moments like these can be overwhelming, but with guidance and support, many can not only survive but flourish. I teach clients skills to better tackle daily challenges. My experience working with LGBTQ+ youth and young adults prepared me to help clients overcome adversity and live authentically. My goal is to help clients challenge unhelpful thoughts that wear them down and promote problem-solving. I hope to empower clients to grow and even inspire others to grow.
As an observer of human behavior and relationship, I see the sticky interconnectedness of self, other, and systems that often imprisons us in behaviors, thoughts, and reactions that can feel unchangeable. I believe people often do the best they can to face the challenges of life, yet in doing so, some of what we discover works at first, fails us long-term. And it’s here that we often feel trapped—between doing what we know to do and knowing what we’re doing is no longer working. That’s where I come in. I’m here to help you find freedom in areas that seem unchangeable, freedom in living into your best self, and freedom in healthy relationship. It’s a journey, but a worthy one, and one that you don’t need to travel alone.
We give young adults a safe space to explore what it means to become a grown, responsible adult. We help identify what’s important to them, visualize a healthy, productive future, and work with them to develop the tools to achieve both their daily goals and their big-picture goals for life. Each person has a unique concept of what a healthy and productive future looks like. We work with our young adult patients to help them discover that for themselves. Young adults having problems getting started in life – the failure to launch syndrome – and college students trying to find their way are ideally suited to benefit from our young adult IOP. The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be intimidating. For a person with a significant mental health disorder, it may feel overwhelming. We get that, one hundred percent. We’re patient, compassionate, and understanding. We help patients who feel lost find themselves. We help patients who feel scared develop the confidence and strength to move forward and face the challenges of life – and adulthood – head-on. We prioritize finding joy in life and creating a daily routine which, over time, creates the foundation for a healthy and productive future.
DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC I AM OFFERING VIDEO SESSIONS. I have worked collaboratively with UCSF medical students, doctors, interns, residents, nurses and dental students for over 20 years in both individual and couples therapy. I understand the milieu that you practice and study in. I am an active and collaborative therapist and strive to build developmentally appropriate interventions to meet the needs of clients throughout the lifecycle. About half my practice is dedicated to couples work and half to individuals assisting in all aspects of communication, sexuality, reproductive challenges, parenting and work/life balance. I have expertise in trauma, mood disorders, anxiety, grief and relational issues. Send an email or call for a free 15 minute consultation.
You've been looking for someone who truly gets what you're experiencing and can provide real tools to help you overcome it. We're not the type of therapists you'll simply vent to; we focus on providing genuine feedback and practical tools. We'll gently guide you through healing old wounds, helping you break free from old patterns, while rediscovering your inherent worth and strength.
I’m a California-licensed LMFT with 15 years of experience across cultural, community, and non-profit settings. Fluent in Spanish, I offer collaborative, client-centered care using evidence-based methods like CBT, family systems, trauma-focused CBT, and strengths-based strategies to support your unique journey.
I know it can be daunting reaching out for therapy - to let in support, to try to find the right fit, to allocate the resources & time. When I was a senior in college, therapy truly saved my life - but I so remember how long it took for me to be able to make that first call. So props to you for exploring! If we end up working together, you will likely share a lot about you. So here’s a little bit about me: I’m a white (French, British, and German heritage), queer, cis-woman from a middle-class background who is able-bodied (with some lived experience of chronic illness). I’m often dreamy, sensitive, irritable, passionate, anxious, patient, funny. I love humor, music, sour gummy worms, Rihanna, poetry, shoes, crying, and books. I’m passionate about social justice and art. I grew up in a coastal town so the ocean feels like home. I startle easily. I love singing and songwriting. Some of the big themes I’ve grappled with during this lifetime are: grief & loss; sexuality & sexual orientation; gender; body image and eating disorders; depression; anxiety; addiction and relationships with family members struggling with addiction; containment; perfection; co-dependence & attachment; sexual trauma; disconnection from creativity; betrayal, infidelity, & trust; monogamy & ethical non-monogamy; suicidality. And here's a bit about my therapy practice: I offer therapy for individuals & partners experiencing a broad range of life challenges. And, I have extensive experience in supporting folks as they navigate the following content areas: communication & relationship issues; grief & loss; identity; trauma; sexual orientation, sexuality & sensuality; creativity; systems & lived experiences of oppression; anxiety & fear; depression; co-dependence; addiction; infidelity, betrayal & trust; and inner-child work. I’m sex-positive, queer, and poly- & kink-affirming, and welcome all ethnic & racial identities & positionalities. The therapy that I offer is depth-oriented and strongly rooted in Gestalt & somatic modalities, as well as intersectional feminism. It is trauma-informed and client-centered. For those that are interested, I also enjoy using intuition, creativity, and the imaginal realms (imagery, visualization, experiential exercises, art, dreamwork, etc.) to support our explorations. If none of that means anything to you (understandable!), here's a *hopefully* less-jargon-y description of how I approach my work as a therapist: I fervently believe that you (and only you) are the authority of your experience. I am here to offer my curiosities, intuition, and reflections — in dialogue with you — to help you explore and discover your truth. I am interested in meeting you wherever you are in the present moment, supporting you to increase your awareness. It is my belief that only by increasing our awareness can we increase our felt experiences of agency and choice…which in turn allows us to live a more empowered, aligned, compassionate, and enlivened life. I care deeply about creating a safe container in our therapeutic relationship — to respect boundaries, to always track for consent and choice, to unambivalently welcome all parts of you, to fervently support both your safety and aliveness. I am passionate about and invested in exploring power, positionality, and privilege. I welcome and support difference, and am committed to efforts to not perpetuate authoritarian and oppressive systems in the therapeutic relationship. I honor & trust the massively creative and adaptive survival strategies that you have developed to keep you safe. And, I also honor the ways that the habitual enacting of those survival strategies may no longer be serving you — that your circumstances and capacities may have outgrown these mechanisms, and that you may need some support in this vulnerable re-emergence into the world. I will sit with you in your suffering. I’m not afraid of the darkness, or of your shadow. I will go to the depths with you. And stay there, in the underworld, with you for as long as you need…until you emerge anew on the other side. I believe that, together, we can co-create a homecoming for you. That our work can guide you home to your innate nature — to your authentic expression of your many parts of self. To your passion and presence and joy. To your aliveness. To feeling deeply nurtured and nourished. A return to self in which you come to truly and intimately know yourself for the first time. I so looking forward to hearing from you & seeing if we might be a good fit to work together, should you choose to reach out!