Therapists for college students near UCLA
Cathy Conway
My specialty areas are working with clients who have personally struggled with substance abuse as well as family members of those who struggle with substance abuse. I also specialize in working with clients who experience anxiety, panic, depression and bipolar disorder. My approach to therapy is down to earth, warm yet direct. My primary task is to get to know you, your challenges, strengths, and goals so that together we can find ways to build more joy into your life. I find it helpful to work with clients to understand lifelong patterns and also to seek out specific ways to experience personal growth. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Sharon Greene, LCSW & Associates
Does this sound familiar? You want to be happy and fulfilled but instead you feel: · Uncomfortable in your own skin · Paralyzed by anxiety about what life will throw at you next · Like you are constantly spiraling and no longer have confidence · Stuck and alone These feelings can result in having a negative outlook on life causing you to experience difficulties in relationships, school and work. Life doesn’t have to stay this way! Hi, my name is Sharon Greene. My team and I can help. We provide therapy online for anxiety and depression using the most effective psychological practices. With warmth and curiosity, we assist clients in exploring the current reasons for their struggles. Since thoughts are powerful, we help clients to consciously explore ways to transform their mindset to help them reduce their pain and step into their authentic selves to create the lives they want. We utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, and other evidenced based practices to assist clients in meeting their goals. Our clients walk away from therapy having an improved outlook on life, a sense of confidence in themselves, ability to experience moments of joy and peace and most importantly, with tools they can utilize to maintain their progress.
Ivette Dominguez
What inspires me to work in the field of mental health care is the incredible resilience and potential I have witnessed in clients over the years. With over 10 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how people can grow, adapt, and persevere through challenges. It’s truly motivating to witness the transformative power of therapy, as it serves as the spark or stepping stone that helps individuals create lasting change in their lives. I am inspired by the strength we all possess as human beings and the opportunity to be part of that transformative process, guiding clients toward a better future. To ensure that clients feel heard and understood in sessions, I focus on creating a safe and trusting environment where they can express themselves freely. I approach each session with cultural humility, recognizing that my norms and experiences may not align with those of the client. By leading with curiosity and empathy, I aim to foster a space where clients feel valued and understood. Additionally, I take a client-centered and trauma-informed approach, prioritizing the individual’s unique needs and experiences. I build trust and a strong therapeutic alliance by working collaboratively with clients to process difficult experiences. Together, we identify core beliefs and unhelpful thinking patterns that may be limiting their growth. By helping clients break free from these outdated beliefs and patterns, I create a space of support and empowerment, allowing them to move forward in a healthier, more constructive way. This collaborative approach fosters trust and a sense of partnership in the therapeutic process.
Kelsey Rivkin
Being a college student can be a lot. Between classes, exams, relationships, family expectations, and the pressure to figure out "what's next," it's easy to feel stretched thin, anxious, or unsure if you're doing any of it right. It can also feel hard to focus on your own life when world events feel heavy or overwhelming. You might be questioning a relationship, feeling disconnected from friends or family, or wondering who you are outside of what everyone expects of you. You deserve a space that's just for you, where you don't have to have it all figured out. Together, we'll work through the stress and anxiety of this season of life. We'll untangle relational patterns that feel stuck and get curious about what you actually want. Along the way, you'll walk away with practical tools to manage stress and anxiety so you can feel more grounded day to day. Getting clearer on your values and who you are can make the uncertainty feel a lot less overwhelming. My style as a therapist is authentic to who I am in everyday life. I show up with warmth, kindness, patience, and humor, and I want you to feel like you can be fully yourself in our sessions. We'll shape the work around what you need, blending honest self-reflection with practical steps forward. If this sounds like what you're looking for, I'd love to connect.
Alvaro Quesada
I accept most major insurances. Please visit my website to schedule time with me! Hi, I’m Alvaro, a licensed professional clinical counselor based in San Diego. If you are dealing with anxiety, ADHD, stress during big life changes, or trying to make sense of college and everything that comes with it, I can help you sort through it. In our sessions you will get real conversation and practical tools, not just theory. We will look at what is getting in your way and work together on what feels manageable right now. You do not have to handle everything on your own. I have worked with people from many different backgrounds, and your story is welcome here. My goal is to offer a space where you feel heard, supported, and able to grow.
Verenice Torres
My practice focuses on treating individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, life transition, and trauma. I value mental health and believe in the importance of getting the necessary care to manage life stressors. In my practice, I utilize a strength-based approach, focused on the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused, Motivational Interviewing, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), to build resilience and empower the BIPOC community. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Loida Almaguel
What inspires me to work as a therapist is the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution on a daily basis. As an immigrant woman of color, who is bilingual and bi-cultural, my family’s struggle to achieve mental health despite deep seated stigma and shame illuminated my commitment to work as a therapist. Clients are the owners of their lives, and I respectfully honor their right to self-determination. A basic guiding principle in my therapeutic work is that clients are able to succeed when they choose their goals and their psychological needs are met. As such, it is my job to encourage competence and mastery of their own paths. That is, what works is what works for the client! Trust is the cornerstone that allows positive growth in therapy, which for me includes empathy, validation, and unconditional positive regard of the client. Reinforcing that we are all doing the best we can, and that coming to therapy is not a failure, but rather it is a growth opportunity.
Reannon Ketabian
I consider myself to be a solution-focused therapist. I practice results-driven therapy, which means we will complete assessments regularly to make sure you are getting the results that you desire. I have extensive experience treating trauma of all kinds including sexual assault, childhood trauma, single incident trauma, survivors of mass shootings, intimate partner violence, birth trauma, infertility, and cumulative career stress. I work with adults and young adults who are motivated to feel better. I have worked with first responders and their families, as well as victims of crime for my entire career and I am able to provide culturally competent care to these populations. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Lisa Chester-Schyman
Hello, My name is Lisa Chester-Schyman and I'm an LMFT practicing in Los Angeles, California. I provide a safe and compassionate environment to support you in your life journey and its many challenges. Through our work together you will develop a deeper understanding of yourself, which will allow you to navigate your life with more ease, manage stress, change and transitions, and live a life filled with meaning. Together we will explore your true nature and I will support you to find more comfort in your life by teaching you tools to overcome obstacles to your emotional well-being. Our collaboration will allow you to move through the more challenging times in your life with a greater sense of ease. I work with adults, teens, and adolescents. I specialize in grief and loss, relational issues, transition and trauma. I believe the relationship between a client and therapist is essential in creating personal healing. I nurture a trusting relationship where you will feel safe to explore your thoughts and feelings without any judgment. From this safe place we will explore what coping mechanisms will best help you and I will help guide you through. I would love to help you on your journey especially during this very difficult time in life and the world. Looking forward to working with you.
Lindsay Conner
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. I have been working in this field since 2012, and I have expertise and experience treating depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, trauma, postpartum, marital issues including infidelity, and more. My clinical framework tends to be a Cognitive Behavioral approach as well as a solution focused approach. I believe that you are the driver of your life, and I am the passenger, providing direction, support and guidance. I have clinical training that include Cognitive Behavior Therapy for anxiety with The Beck Institute, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional through PESI, and just recently completed a Dialectical Behavior Therapy training through Behavioral Tech. I believe that therapy is something that everyone can benefit from, but therapy is also difficult as it is an active process wherein I will aid you to change some of your old ways of thinking and coping in the hopes of finding mental peace. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Anna V. Ennis Online Therapy
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, licensed in both California and Idaho. I specialize in supporting individuals who are navigating challenges such as anxiety, depression, stress, and other emotional or life difficulties. Evening and weekend appointments available. Free initial consultation. My approach to therapy is collaborative, personalized, and recovery-oriented. I believe therapy should feel both supportive and practical, and I strive to create a warm, collaborative environment where clients feel safe exploring challenges, developing coping skills, and working toward meaningful and lasting change. Through telehealth services, I work with people experiencing concerns such as anxiety, stress, depression, relationship difficulties, and life transitions. My goal is to help clients feel heard, understood, and empowered as they build resilience, gain insight, and move toward greater emotional well-being.
Arturo Palos Chavez
Luck, interest, fascination of the complexity of the human psyche and opportunity. I find meaning and purpose in the privilege that comes with another’s trust in navigating adapting to life’s inevitable uncertainties. Do you feel heard and understood currently? I understand the general concept, but can you please share what “heard and understood” currently means to you? Where do you feel most and least? Let’s explore that and identify your expectations of me as the provider. Collaborative, insight oriented, strength based skill development. Short term solution focused interventions with the intended strategy to encourage increased autonomy, emotional intelligence/resiliency in accepting and navigating life’s uncertainties and intricacies!
Kimberly Naraine
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma Focused-CBT (TF-CBFT), DBT-informed approach. I strongly believe in collaborative work, and I have a passion for assisting clients through their mental health journey through the use of humanistic and motivational interviewing practices. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Susanne Fux-Cortes
I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to the San Diego area at the age of three. I am fortunate to be fully fluent in English and Spanish. Living in a bicultural home and in a very multicultural environment, I have been privileged to be part of the border culture, a subculture in itself. My own personal and professional experiences have allowed me the opportunity to understand the importance of cultural, socio-economic, gender, and racial-related issues. I can empathize, if not relate to them all. My hope and commitment to my clients are to guide them through their journey towards self-awareness and wellbeing. My goal is to provide them with the necessary tools (I like to think of therapy as a safe place where the clients build their toolbox) that will help them manage current and future life challenges. I would be honored to participate in your journey of self-awareness, wellbeing and overall emotional health. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.
Melissa Morales
When clients ask what inspired me to become a therapist, I share that I’m passionate about creating a safe, supportive space for children, couples, and families to feel seen and understood. As a first-generation Mexican-American, I’ve experienced how culture, family dynamics, and life experiences shape who we are, which led me to this work—helping individuals and families better understand themselves and each other. To help you feel heard, I focus on building a warm, nonjudgmental, and collaborative environment. Whether I’m working with a child, a couple, or a family, I approach each person with curiosity and cultural humility, making sure everyone’s voice is valued and understood. Working together is a partnership. I use a systems perspective, so we’ll explore how relationships, communication patterns, and family dynamics impact your experiences. With children, this may look like play-based or developmentally appropriate support; with couples and families, we’ll work on communication, boundaries, and strengthening connection. I build trust by being consistent, transparent, and genuinely engaged so you feel supported as we navigate challenges together. My ultimate goal is to understand you as an individual and provide a space where you can become your authentic self. I have had success working within the LQBTQ+ POC community as well as with children of immigrants. I enjoy joining my clients on their path to self-acceptance and self-empowerment.
Lemon-Aid Counseling
Telehealth in CA Do you know who you are, what you need, where you want to go in life, how to get there? Does it seem like others have their sh*t together while you sometimes can't figure out what you are doing? How do you make choices and decisions if you don't know which way to turn? How do you create healthy relationships if you didn't have the best role models at home? How can you calm your worry and anxiety about school, life, and your future? Do you have any physical or medical problems interfering with your life? Has life dumped a truckload of lemons on your doorstep? We don't always choose our circumstances, but we still have to figure out how to deal with them. It helps to have a non-judgmental, supportive person to help you sort through these big life issues. Call me to see if I might be that person for you. While I am white and cis gender, I have clients and family members from a range of personal identities. My schedule varies, so we'd need to see what fits for virtual sessions.
Jenna Stark
Starting therapy can be an exciting and daunting process. Working with a therapist allows you to have an unbiased third party listen to your story, validate your feelings and emotions and help foster and provide insight and support. Therapy can help you learn new strategies and techniques to help you better tolerate distress and view thoughts, feelings and situations differently. My goal as a therapist is to provide a safe, compassionate, and non-judgmental space where we can work together to identify and process issues you have been facing. Together we can reflect on previous thinking patterns and behaviors that have led to distress and discuss new options and possibilities.
Jen Ottman Psychotherapy
Hi! I’m Jen, a therapist living & working in Santa Monica, CA. I offer in-person and virtual therapy for teens, adults, and couples, with a special focus on supporting college students navigating life’s big transitions. College can feel like a constant pressure to have it all figured out, like keeping up with classes, planning your future, maintaining relationships, becoming independent. It’s easy to go on autopilot and miss the internal struggles happening under the surface. In our work together, we’ll take a closer look at the patterns, beliefs, and experiences shaping how you move through the world - not with judgment, but with curiosity. That might mean noticing how the past shows up in the present, tuning into what actually feels good (which often gets overlooked), or learning how to ask for what you need with more confidence and empathy. I know firsthand what it’s like to seem “fine” on the outside while feeling overwhelmed inside. My own experiences navigating high-pressure environments, family dynamics, and personal growth have shown me how powerful it is to have a space for reflection, connection, and honest support. My approach is insight-driven, relational, and strength-based. This means we'll work on understanding why you do what you do, not to label it, but to learn from it, and build on the strengths you already bring to the table. The relationship we build in therapy becomes a space to practice things like vulnerability, setting boundaries, and getting your needs met, so that over time, the changes you make here can ripple into your everyday life — in classes, friendships, dating, and beyond.
Besan Hanna
I believe that we each hold the solutions to our lives and sometimes we just need support as we figure things out. That’s my role! I get the privilege to walk beside you on your life journey and help you find solutions you already have. We get to do this together via a strength-based and solution-oriented approach that reminds you of your capabilities and just how powerful you truly are. Sessions can be tough as we work through challenges. But you’re not alone and clearly have survived all of your worst days because you are here! I’m excited to watch you grow and achieve your goals while providing you with a supportive environment to explore. I am a therapist at Octave, a behavioral health practice creating a new standard for mental health care that’s both high-quality and accessible. To learn more about my availability, please reach out to our Client Experience team by emailing or calling.
Susan Yuen
I specialize in therapy focused on recovering from addictions, various traumas such as childhood trauma, religious trauma, and relationship trauma in addition to alleviating anxiety and depression. I have been passionate about helping those suffering with the impact of life's challenges for over 20 years. I have worked in a psychiatric hospital, an intensive outpatient facility, in various schools, a non-profit agency for foster children, and maintained a private practice for over 10 years. I utilize Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Compassion Focused therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction therapy to help people transform their wounds into wisdom so they can live lives of hope, courage, and freedom. My past clients have expressed an appreciation for my unconditional acceptance and compassionate approach that propels them into a state of healing and growth. I am dedicated to being your safe and approachable guide through your healing journey so you can heal from your past and live the fulfilling life you are meant to live. I'm a therapist with Octave and Evernorth Behavioral Care Group. Octave is a mental health practice providing high-quality care covered by multiple insurances. Evernorth Behavioral Care Group is a behavioral health provider group in-network with Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth. For my availability, please reach out to Octave’s team by emailing or calling.