Therapists serving clients in San Marcos, CA

Thank you for visiting my profile. I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California as well as having a Masters in Social Work . I have experience working with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems and end of life issues. My counseling style is warm, supportive, and interactive, and I consider the client/therapist relationship to be the most important element in the healing process. I believe in treating each client with respect, sensitivity, and compassion , avoiding stigmatizing labels. My approach combines cognitive behavioral and solution focused therapy but I consider early life experiences to be very influential in an individual's psychological development. I will tailor our dialogue and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. It is not easy to take the first step towards change but therapy can be a transformative experience leading to a more satisfying and fulfilling life. If you are ready to take that step, I am here to support and empower you.

Hi and welcome. I have been a social worker for 27 years, and have worked in the field of social services for over 31 years. I have experience working with adult survivors of child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, commercial exploitation, and rape. I have experience working with adults dealing with anxiety, depression, divorce, family separation, and caretaker fatigue. I also have experience working with adults dealing with significant life/career changes, and those dealing with crisis situations. I have a laid back approach and am here to support the changes you want to make in your life. I am available nights and weekends and can work with those who have varying or irregular schedules. I understand how vital support can be during difficult times, and I am here for you. I want to know your story and I want to work with you to help you achieve your therapeutic goals. I want you to feel comfortable sharing your story with me and working with me through the therapeutic modality you feel is most beneficial to you and your support. I will work with you so we can determine your most important concerns and needs and what therapeutic goals you have. I will ensure that we stay on target with those goals so that you have a successful therapeutic process.

I am a family and marriage counselor licensed in California with over 8 years of experience working as a therapist. I have worked with clients with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, ADHD, relationship issues, parenting problems, behavioral issues, gender and sexuality, and college and career challenges. I have also helped many people who have experienced physical trauma, emotional and physical abuse, chemical dependency, homelessness, and divorce. I have over five years of experience serving children, adolescents, and teens, through a variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, divorce, ADHD, and academic and behavioral challenges. I have a client-centered approach and I believe that you are the author of your own story; I am merely here to help lead your sessions, and support you along your journey. I believe in treating everyone whom I have the pleasure of working with respect, sensitivity, and compassion--and I will show up for you wherever you are at in your life. My approach combines Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and psychodynamic counseling. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. I don't believe that any of us were created to do life alone. We were not created to feel lonely, or pained by sadness or confusion from our past. I look forward to creating a relationship with you that will inspire and empower you, helping to promote healing, growth, and change. I look forward to working with you!

Hello, my name is Luis Martinez and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. I have been in the Mental Health field for over 5 years and have worked in a variety of settings which has been able to provide me with the experience to better understand my clients. Using a client centered approach together we can decide on an appropriate treatment plan to help you overcome the struggles you are facing and tackle your challenges head-on. My preferred modality is Solution Focused Therapy, which is based on what you are already doing well an to help you realize that your strengths are the answer to your concerns and sometimes you just need help seeing them. Therapy in reality boils down to these few things, you want consistency, structure, and to an extent some predictability in your life. The uncertainty and the day to day stressors have all piled up and you just want to be free of everything getting in your way that's keeping you from your ideal future or perhaps your ideal state of mind. Weird thing is you already have what it takes to achieve your desired outcome, you just need someone to guide that process.

Joe Whitcomb, Relationship Society's BondFire Project Therapy: I hail from the picturesque locales of Santa Monica and San Diego, California, and embarked on a unique journey that led me to Kyiv, Ukraine in June 2021. My original mission was to delve into the realm of trauma-informed mixed reality, with a particular focus on addressing trauma and relationships within the metaverse, primarily catering to military personnel, veterans, first responders, and trauma survivors. However, unforeseen circumstances such as the war have kept me engaged in trauma-informed humanitarian efforts. This endeavor is not just my profession but my profound passion. Currently, I find myself residing in the charming city of Nice, France. My expertise lies in offering trauma-informed relationship psychotherapy services, utilizing a range of modalities that transition seamlessly from virtual reality experiences and video or telehealth therapy. These techniques are designed to foster secure and supportive conversations, particularly in the context of couples and families dealing with Complex-PTS and PTS (Trauma). I have a penchant for working with couples, individuals, military personnel, veterans, first responders, and anyone who "Rage against the dying of the light" in the face of adversity. My therapeutic approach is marked by the integration of multidisciplinary theories, concepts, interventions, methods, and applications aimed at treating complex PTSD within the intricate dynamics of couples. I draw upon the best practices in PACT, Gottman Method, Imago Therapy, Real Life Therapy, Executive and Life Coaching, EMDR, and attachment-based Emotionally Focused Couple Trauma. My goal is to tailor these approaches to the unique needs and circumstances of each couple. I firmly believe that well-being is inherently social, and by offering couples a shared context, tools, resources, and evidence-based trauma-informed research, we can effectively target the barriers that hinder them from realizing their true desires and forging deeper connections. In the spirit of a Celtic saying, "We live in the shelter of each other," I recognize that no relationship is without its vulnerabilities. Partners must acknowledge these raw spots and engage in open, compassionate communication to draw closer to one another. Love, like a dance, involves tuning in, connecting, missteps, disconnection, repairs, and deeper connections. It's an ongoing process of meeting, parting, and finding one another anew, moment by moment and day by day. When partners in distress no longer view each other as emotional safe havens, conflicts take on a deeper significance—they are desperate pleas to restore the eroding connection and reignite emotional engagement. Learning to love and be loved entails attuning to our own emotions and those of our partners. This empowers us to express our needs openly, eliciting compassion and support, and creating a secure foundation upon which both partners can rely. Here Is What To Expect When You Work With Me This will give you a sense of my guiding beliefs and my approach to working with couples. What I Believe • Couples are seeking connection. We want to feel that connection with each other, that aliveness, that excitement, that sense of well being. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual connection. It is what we feel when we first come together with someone and “fall in love”. • Conflict is the motivating force for healing and growth in relationships. I believe the conflict couples experience after the “honeymoon period” of their relationship is actually necessary. Conflict points out where we don’t get our needs met. Unmet needs create a breakdown in connection, destroying passion and intimacy. Many couples don’t navigate this “power struggle” phase successfully and eventually break up or settle for a less than satisfying relationship. • Connection requires Safety and Passion. We want the emotional safety to be ourselves, to be open and honest, to feel accepted and understood. With this safety, comes deep connection. From this nurturing environment, passion can arise and be sustained. I mean sexual passion, of course, and also, emotional passion. The freedom to be spontaneous, to express who we are, to be intimate and excited by our lives is also a key desire. • Expressing and meeting your needs creates a healthy, passionate relationship. I will teach you to create the emotional safety which will allow you to recognize and express your needs consciously. From this place of safety and satisfied needs, a conscious, passionate relationship can develop. Get Results • You can learn how to connect again with your partner! You can share with each other on a deep, loving, meaningful level. You can feel heard and understood by your partner. You can learn to be more compassionate and empathic with them and they with you. • You can have a passionate, exciting sex life with your partner! You can spontaneously express your feelings towards your partner through your lovemaking. • You can feel good about yourself and your relationship again! You can know your needs, share them with your partner and together you can help each other to meet those needs! You can respect and cherish each other and treat each other and your relationship with that deep caring and nurturing. • You can recapture that playfulness, that innocence, that pure joy of being together that you once had! You can tap into and recreate those wonderful, idyllic moments you once shared and have them available to you once again! • You can reignite the passion of your relationship! You can remove the baggage that has weighed you down and be lifted into a new romance, a new love, a new depth that you have always wanted and you will be able to sustain it. What Working With Me Is Like • You’ll learn skills, tools and exercises to help your relationship. My ultimate task is to put myself out of a job. I want you to be able to be responsible for your relationship and have the skills to make it the best it can possibly be. • I’ll expect you to practice between sessions. The majority of the work takes place between our sessions. The results you receive will be in direct proportion to the work you put into this process. I’m committed to doing everything in my power to help you in your relationship. I expect the same from you. • I’ll shoot straight with you. I’m not afraid to speak my mind. I’m not afraid to take charge of our sessions. I won’t collude with you in the sustaining the unhealthy parts of your relationship. I’ll hold you accountable to your goals and our mutual agreements and for creating the relationship vision that you desire so strongly to create. • I’ll help “translate” between you and your partner. This is something I’ve had a great deal of practice at, and I’m really good at it. I can speak your language, whether intellectual or emotional, whether masculine or feminine, whether verbal or non-verbal. It’s one of my greatest gifts as a couples’ therapist. • My job is to keep you emotionally safe and secure while you do the work. I take that very seriously. Couples are generally not very comfortable with the process of beginning couples work. They are airing all of their issues in front of a total stranger. There can be a lot of finger pointing and blaming, criticizing and condemning. I don’t allow that. We’ll create a space where you can be honest AND kind and loving. Developing intimacy requires the freedom to be open and vulnerable, which requires safety. • We’ll laugh and have fun. This is serious work, and needs to be balanced with a sense of humor. I’m professional, yet relaxed and easy-going. I’m flexible, creative and out-of-the-box. I’ll do my best to set you at ease and have you be as comfortable as you can be through this challenging, yet rewarding process. The Bottom Line I believe that I can help you to have a better relationship, that is more passionate, more intimate, more romantic, more sensual. BIOGRAPHY:  Qualifications & Experience I have been counseling and training informally for 25 years and formally for 20 years. I served in my church as a marriage and family ministry leader, educator and mentor for 20 years and as a professional, licensed marriage and family therapist for 15 years. I did my training for a B.S. in psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology with University of Maryland, B.S. in Organizational Management with University of Phoenix, Masters in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy with Pepperdine University, and all but dissertation for Doctorate in Psychology in Marriage and Family Therapy with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. My clinical practicum and internship was with La Vie Christian Counseling in Pasadena and Santa Monica, and Turning Point Christian Counseling in Pasadena. I also trained in Christian Counseling with Gary Smalley, Henry Cloud and John Townsend, and Emerson Eggerichs for Christian Marriage and Relationship Therapy. My other training and certifications include: Certificate in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy Gottman Level I and II Certified Gottman Educator Certified in EMDR Certified in PTSD and Trauma Therapy Certified in Couples Intensives with Smalley Institute Certified and trained in Dynamic Marriage Certified and trained in Love and Respect Couples Intensives with Emerson Eggerichs Certified and trained in Cloud and Townsend Certified as a facilitator and trainer in SYMBIS (Save Your Marriage Before It Starts) with Les and Leslie Parrot Certified and trained as a Facilitator and Trainer for Prepare and Enrich Certified in Christian Marriage, Couples and Relationship Intensives with Sharon Morris May

I am licensed in California with 34 years of professional experience in helping clients coping with addictions, with grief and loss, spiritual issues, and other changes along the path of life (whether planned or unexpected). I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started!

I am licensed in California with 28 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, & coping with life changes. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards a change. I am here to support & empower you in that journey.

For over 40 years, I have been serving clients and my community in both California and -- more recently -- Idaho as a psychotherapist, radio talk-show host, college instructor, career and workplace consultant, aging counselor, and child development expert. ​ Being able to recognize the patterns, pain, and issues that prevent people from living healthy lives is an essential skill for any therapist. In my twelve years of academic training and forty years of clinical work, I have fine-tuned this skill and gained a wealth of experience to help my clients achieve lasting, positive changes in their lives. ​ I believe that empathy, trust, and honesty are the cornerstones of the therapeutic process. I further believe that everyone has the capacity for change and self-growth. However, healing and growth can occur only when we feel safe enough to explore the issues that trouble us. Therefore, my goal is to create a supportive environment where clients can explore new ways to resolve their struggles so that they can reach their full potential as professionals, parents, lovers, people. ​ You and I will work actively together towards this goal. By balancing my capacity for analysis with a compassionate heart, I will lend you my strength so that you will have the courage to find you own.

I am licensed in California with 4 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, relationship issues, motivation, self esteem, and confidence, & depression. I work with my clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process.

I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California with 16 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, & parenting issues. I believe that you have already inside you all that you need to overcome, learn and grow from your challenges. I am seasoned in assisting you on your journey of self growth and awareness. I am grateful for the opportunity to support you in overcoming the areas in your life that are challenging you. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage and I am confident that it will be of great support so lets get started.