Therapists for college students near UCLA
Hi, I'm Cassidy, and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I believe that healing starts with a warm, genuine connection. If you’ve been struggling with the weight of depression or anxiety, I’m here to walk alongside you with kindness and understanding. I love combining the 'science' of therapy with human connection, making sure you feel seen and supported while we break down the big stressors into more manageable pieces.
My therapy practice gives you the unique opportunity to take the space to be heard and discover what you really want. I specialize in helping clients work through betrayals and relationship issues. During our time together you will build resiliency skills, set healthier boundaries, and manage stress more effectively to led to a happier life!
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
At Affirming Therapy Center, we support and encourage your desire for growth in a completely non-judgmental way, in a space that acknowledges your unique personhood and distinct challenges. You are welcomed and celebrated here. Helping you in understanding, accepting, and embracing your own beliefs, identities, and lifestyles is cornerstone in providing the support and encouragement you need to grow, to bring clarity to your choices, and to enhance your life and relationships. We focus on making you feel safe to explore your feelings and to express yourself. We proudly serve communities of Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity! The therapists at ATC are dedicated to enthusiastically affirming all GSRD identities including, but not limited to, LGBT, Queer, Heterosexual, Kink / BDSM, Fetish, ABDL and Ageplay, Sex Work, Adult Industry, Monogamy, Non-Monogamy, Swinging / Lifestyle, Polyamory, and a Variety of Relationship Dynamics and Family Configurations. Each member of the ATC clinical team is a professionally-trained Psychotherapist, qualified to address topics such as identity, relationship challenges, intimacy concerns, sex and sexual health, anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and personal growth. And each of our clinicians have unique areas of expertise, including advanced specialized training in the areas of Sex Therapy, Gender Affirming Therapy, Eating Disorders, EMDR (for trauma), and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy. As with everything in life, there are ups and downs, and sometimes you need someone to talk to. Maybe you have inner conflict, questions about how and where you fit in to our kooky world. Perhaps you have wounds that aren’t healing or stories you need to tell. Or perhaps you just want to talk to someone about life and love, talk to someone who understands the challenges you sometimes face, without having to hide any facet of yourself or your life. There is only one “you”, and we at Affirming Therapy Center are here to help you excel at living your best life and being your best “you”. Our therapists are trained to listen, understand, and help guide you on your unique journey. Please visit our Meet the Team page to see each of our amazing therapists’ bios and areas of specialization. https://www.affirmingtherapycenter.com/meet-the-team/ Contact us now to get started: Send an e-mail to Team@AffirmingTherapyCenter.com with a brief description of what’s going on for you and your availability for appointments. One of our friendly therapists will respond to you (in 1–2 business days) to schedule an initial session or a free 10–15 minute phone consultation.
Dr. Ponting is a licensed clinical psychologist specialized in treating anxiety, traumatic stress, and depression in adults and children. She focuses on improving mental health during the transition to parenthood, including pregnancy and the postpartum period. Dr. Ponting also works with families with young children ages 2-6 who have experienced a recent traumatic event. Dr. Ponting provides individualized, culturally responsive care aimed at reducing distress and enhancing the capacity to feel positive emotions. Dr. Ponting draws from several evidence-based individual and family therapies and provides services in English and Spanish.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Embodied Recovery provides outpatient mental health and addiction treatment services in Los Gatos, California. We offer small group sizes which are ideal for emotional processing work and building the therapeutic relationships necessary for personal transformation. Embodied Recovery facilitates a variety of educational, process-oriented, and evidence-based practices designed to undo unhealthy ways of living and create a life that is rich in meaning and purpose. Embodied Recovery offers 3 levels of care: day treatment, intensive outpatient, and outpatient. Our day treatment program is 5 days per week, for approximately 5 hours per day. Our intensive outpatient program is 4 days per week, for 3 hours per day. Our outpatient level of care combines individual services (addiction counseling, individual psychotherapy, bio-feedback, mind-body practice, and breath work) for 1-3 hours per week.
Are you unsatisfied with one or more areas of your life? I partner with my clients to empower them to make the changes necessary to bring their realities in line with the lives they truly want. In this way, I collaborate with each individual, couple, and family with whom I work to craft their own individualized success plans. To accomplish this, I draw upon years of experience, as well as a very strong foundation of training in a range of techniques and strategies. Perhaps equally important are the personal qualities that I bring, which include intelligence, genuineness, compassion, and a commitment to the highest standards. I offer a range of types of therapies, often combining several, depending on the particular needs of each client. These include short term interventions designed to provide quick symptom relief and behavioral change, as well as longer-term approaches that aim at helping to extend these changes into a fulfilling life. Entrusting another person to help with your most sensitive issues isn't easy. Please know that I will honor you with the level of care, concern, and commitment you deserve. I will always act in your best interest, helping you to overcome those things that are holding you back.
I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California with a passion for helping people grow into their most authentic selves while navigating the real challenges of everyday life. College can be an exciting yet difficult time. If you are needing support navigating new transitions at school, preparing for graduation or entering the job field I am ready to work alongside you. I work with clients who are managing big emotions, feeling stuck, or struggling in their relationships and sense of self. I use a blend of DBT, Internal Family Systems, and Narrative Therapy to help you make sense of your past, understand your patterns, and build new ways of coping so you can feel more grounded, confident, and in control.
If someone asked you not to think for 10 minutes how hard would that be? Is overthinking about the “What Ifs” driving you to relentlessly check things over and over again? Are you determined to find certainty in an uncertain world? Do you frequently ask others repeatedly if something or someone is going to be OK? No matter how much you do a task or say a particular thing does peace of mind elude you? Does the compulsion to handwash, re-read, double-check, pray, or re-arrange items never provide lasting relief? Do you find yourself burdened by intrusive thoughts that strike against your will and preoccupy your mind for hours a day? OCD is characterized by unabating obsessions matched with intense mental or behavioral rituals to relieve the anxiety provoked. It is not treated by “talk therapy” but with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Through customized gradual exposures, ERP is an evidence-based method of intervention to reduce the severity of OCD symptoms. Exposure Therapy Designs is a telehealth practice that focuses on providing EMDR and ERP for individuals struggling with OCD and PTSD. Our clinicians offer evidence and strengths-based counseling with multicultural sensitivity. We are solutions-oriented and practice from a Solutions Focused Brief Therapy Model. ERP is a collaborative and creative approach to learning new skills and strategies to become comfortable with uncertainty and more confident in your ability to handle life’s unexpected challenges. My style is compassionate, client-centered, and culturally sensitive. Licensed in California and Massachusetts. Registered Out-of-State Telehealth provider for Florida. Research indicates that approximately 40 to 60 percent of OCD conditions have a trauma onset. Often talking about the trauma(s) can retraumatize a person. For that reason, Eye Movement and Desensitization Response (EMDR) and the Flash Technique are evidence-based treatment interventions utilized to resolve the severity of PTSD symptoms. Our treatment focus is on neurodivergent issues and gifted learners. Therapeutic style is evidenced and strength based, multiculturally sensitive, solutions oriented, client centered, and collaborative. You are the expert on you. Our role is to facilitate and support an awareness of how to implement changes to overcome unhelpful patterns in thinking and decision-making. We strive to see the whole person not just a list of symptoms. Understanding your unique background is key because therapy is not a cookie-cutter approach. Our team includes providers who are Certified Level One Solutions Focused Therapists and received specialized training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Habit Reversal Training (HRT). We also have clinicians who have completed Basic training in EMDR and the Flash Technique. We work with individuals experiencing neurodivergent issues, gifted learners, individuals coping to manage life transitions, women’s mental health issues around shifting roles in family and career, and immigration/re-entry adjustment stressors. We have licensed therapists who can see individuals residing in California, Florida, Massachusetts and Virginia. However our Associate Clinicians are only able to see residents of California at this time. Individuals who have Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Lyra, SpringHealth, or Sutter EAP benefits are able to use their health plan coverage to pay for sessions with our licensed clinician only. For everyone else we work with Mentaya, a platform that helps clients get money back on out-of-network therapy sessions. If you have out-of-network benefits, Mentaya will file claims and handle the insurance paperwork to make sure you get reimbursed. They charge a 5% fee per claim and have helped people get thousands of dollars back per year. You can sign up using this link: https://app.mentaya.com/register?p=XqKyUZD7e4vJZUJ89P3c Note: Mentaya's goal is to save you time and money. It's completely optional, and as your therapist, I do not benefit in any way from your participation. **Sliding scale rates available on a limited cash pay-only basis with our Associate Clinicians**
Are you ready to take the first step toward living the life you always wanted? Would you like to start making changes in your life so you can become your best-self? Our mission is to help every client live a happy and fulfilling life, full of meaning and purpose. We set specific, measurable, and attainable treatment goals so you will start seeing progress right away. We have several clinicians from various backgrounds and will match you with the clinician who you feel is a good fit for you. We offer virtual sessions so we are able to meet anytime, wherever you are.
Are you looking to reignite that spark in your eyes that you felt was lost a long time ago? Could you be feeling lost and seeking a way to find your sense of direction? Do you feel that your relationship has not been the same as it was years ago and you may need guidance on what to do with your partner? By working with me, you may not have to face these challenges on your own. I work with an array of different populations including young adults, college students, transitional-age youth, domestic violence survivors, undocumented immigrants, individuals struggling with major depression and anxiety, and couples. Other areas of interest include helping individuals heal from codependency and breakups, providing support for culturally sensitive-issues impacting the Asian American community, and providing solidarity as an LGBTQ+ ally. If you are interested, I invite you to contact me to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your time and consideration and I hope we can connect soon!
I practice therapy as a genuine partnership—collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in evidence. If anxiety, low mood, exhaustion, relationship challenges, or life changes are weighing on you, we’ll co-create practical, values-aligned goals and build skills you can use right away. I practice therapy as a genuine partnership—collaborative, compassionate, and grounded in evidence. If anxiety, low mood, exhaustion, relationship challenges, or life changes are weighing on you, we’ll co-create practical, values-aligned goals and build skills you can use right away. I am trained in a variety of modalities including Problem Solving Treatment (PST), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), CBT, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) among others. I also have many years of experience providing clinical supervision to MSW students and Associate Clinical Social Workers working towards licensure. I strive to foster growth and healing through a deeper understanding of your history, relationships, thoughts, feelings, and actions. I believe in human’s innate ability to heal from difficult experiences. You can expect to get something out of every session when you work with me.
We are a team of highly skilled therapists offering flexible hours to accommodate our clients’ needs and schedules. This includes in office and Telehealth services 7 days a week. The services that we provide are aimed at reducing the challenges and discomfort that our client’s feel in their lives. This may be through the lens of individual, couples, family, or child counseling. Our diverse team of therapists work to assist clients in anxiety management, reducing depression, increasing communication skills, learning anger management skills, learning positive coping skills, mending relationship injuries, and overall increasing our client’s life satisfaction. If you are ready to make changes in your life in a safe, caring, and trusting setting to reach your life goals please reach out to us today.
Trinette, a dedicated Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), emphasizes collaboration with her patients in treating psychiatric disorders and managing medications. She partners with them, integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and supportive and talk therapy to meet their unique needs. Together, they explore CBT techniques, where Trinette guides patients to identify and reframe distorted thoughts—say, tackling anxiety-driven fears—co-creating strategies that empower them to cope. In MI, she works alongside patients, sparking their motivation to embrace treatment plans, like sticking to meds or therapy for depression, ensuring their voice drives the process. Through supportive talk therapy, Trinette and her patients jointly unpack emotions, building trust as they process challenges like trauma, reinforcing their resilience as a team. In medication management, collaboration shines: Trinette assesses symptoms and histories with patient input, designing psychopharmacological plans together. She explains options—perhaps adjusting an antipsychotic for bipolar disorder—while they monitor effects and tweak dosages as a unit, balancing efficacy and comfort. For instance, a patient with OCD might co-develop a plan blending CBT for obsessions and a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, refining it based on shared feedback. This partnership fosters ownership, as patients feel heard and respected. By merging these therapies with tailored medication, Trinette and her patients collaboratively address mind and body, paving the way for sustainable mental wellness through mutual effort and understanding.
College should be about growth, not just survival. If you're struggling with unpredictable mood swings, overwhelming worry, lots of sadness, or using substances to cope, or climate anxiety, I'm here for you. I work best with students who experience intense emotional ups and downs, find themselves caught in cycles of productivity followed by inability to function, or use alcohol or other substances to manage difficult feelings and thoughts, or those who are preoccupied with climate-related grief or anxiety. I offer a space where you don't need to hide your challenges or pretend to have it all together. We'll focus on getting to know each other, creating a safe space to open up, and increasing coping strategies, such as recognizing early warning signs, building supportive routines, navigating academic pressures, developing genuine connections without relying on substances, and handling the climate crisis with more ease. Whether you're facing mood swings, anxiety, depression, substance use challenges, climate distress, or all of these, there's a path forward. Reach out today to take the first step towards change, growth and stability.