Therapists for college students near University of Southern California

I am a board-certified Adult, Child, Adolescent, Psychiatrist focusing on neurodivergence, ADHD, anxiety, OCD, and depression. I use a holistic approach when working with patients and work closely with therapists. By collaborating with patients and families, I incorporate therapeutic strategies to complement medication management. I earned a BA in Molecular Biology at Princeton University before attending medical school at Tulane University. I went on to complete my psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Louisiana State University New Orleans. Before moving to Los Angeles, I was a faculty member at Louisiana State University where I served as the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training director.

We are a psychotherapists in Santa Monica, specializing in anxiety, trauma, and relationships. Using a strengths-based approach, we are dedicated to supporting progress through warmth and understanding. We are eager to help clients with a variety of issues such as anxiety, depression, relationships, OCD, self-esteem, and chronic illness. From helping teens with trauma and high-risk behaviors to teaching parents mindfulness strategies, we are passionate about making individuals and families feel stronger. Based on research and experience, we believe in the power of brain-body-based therapies and “focusing on the present” to improve your day-to-day life. Our passion is to help individuals grow through awareness and connection. We strive to meet you where you are and help you get to where you want to be. Together we can use your personal strengths to cope, connect with others, and handle life's many issues. Whatever challenges you are facing, we hope to create a safe environment to support you.

Being a young adult can feel scary right now. Even in these times, I believe deeply in our innate capacity to heal, grow, and transform. Society doesn’t make that process easy- we face inequality, get stuck, and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the weight of it all. There is a path forward, but it’s not always easy to find. A big part of my work is helping you blaze this trail and collaborating with your success. Using a combination of warmth, mindfulness, brain/body science, creativity and sharing knowledge, I help keep your process moving toward living the life you want. Over the past 15 years, I’ve specialized in working with teen girls, young adults in their 20s and 30s, and those navigating life transitions, school, trauma, or relational challenges. This life stage can feel intense- you're shaping your career, defining your values, and building relationships that matter. Together, we can explore those big questions while tending to the deeper layers beneath them. I’m also an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Certified Therapist™, and I use this powerful tool to help clients heal from distressing experiences, integrate their stories, and access new ways of being. EMDR can be our central focus or one approach among many, depending on your needs. As a Puerto Rican-American therapist, I bring a culturally responsive, decolonized lens to this work. I understand that our struggles aren’t just internal, they’re shaped by larger systems that impact how we live, relate, and find belonging. If you're navigating second-generation or multicultural identity, I’ve got you. My goal is to create a space that honors your complexity and supports your power. Whether you’re seeking support for anxiety, identity exploration, trauma recovery, or simply a space to connect with yourself, I’d be honored to work with you.

Young adulthood is a time of growth, self-discovery, and life transitions. Whether you're in college, starting your career, or navigating relationships, therapy can provide guidance and tools for coping. Together we can discuss things such as relationship difficulties, values, identity, coping with anxiety or depression, body image struggles, connection to oneself and others, and patterns you are maybe starting to notice as you grow. My goal as a young adult therapist, which is similar to that of a teen therapist, is to create a safe relationship for exploration. A place where you can show up without preparation and as exactly who you are.

Joanna has 20 years of professional experience as a school psychologist and most currently as a licensed educational psychologist providing in-depth psychological, educational, socio-emotional, and behavioral support to children, adolescents, young adults, families, educators, professionals, and para-professionals in both the public and private sectors. Since 2001, she has served as a psychologist across Los Angeles and Orange County providing detailed, comprehensive assessments & evaluations, trainings, consultation, and counseling for individuals and groups.

Whether you need support through a big life change, you’re ready to address recent and/or past trauma, or would like to understand yourself and your relationships better, I bring an engaged, empathic, non-judgmental attitude to our time together. My approach is collaborative, attachment focused, and trauma informed; I will seek and welcome your feedback throughout our time working together to make sure you agree with and understand how we're working on your concerns.

As a skilled psychotherapist, my goal is to help you lead the life that you desire through psychotherapy. I pair my training with evidence-based approaches such as EMDR for trauma and use techniques to determine where changes can be made to help you find relief and fulfillment in your life. My practice consists of individuals, couples and families with a variety of issues including (but not limited to) anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. Through a strengths-based lens, my clients learn to improve coping skills, work through issues, as well as develop insight, understanding, and the confidence to improve the journey in their lives

Welcome! I'm glad you are here and you deserve the highest praise for taking this first step. I believe mental health is a spectrum of experiences and part of what makes us human. We can experience times when there are challenges to our mental health and times of flourishing. We all deserve a place to talk with someone who we know will not judge or shame us, but instead walk along side us, holding hope and strength until we can hold it ourselves. A bit about my approach to therapy: I offer approaches to therapy that are dynamic and relational in nature, incorporating a variety of modalities and perspectives (IFS, AEDP, Attachment based, etc). In our work together we can begin bringing awareness to the unconscious daily activity of the autonomic nervous system and how these bodily states impact our emotions and cognitions. What you can expect from our work together: A gentle space to land, recover, process, and heal from an unexpected change or difficult life season. We can be curious together not just about the “why” of an emotion but the “what” it feels like in the body and what the relationship with that emotion is. An encouraging voice on your journey to tend to, not only the needs of others, but also your own needs. A guide in cultivating curiosity and compassion for our stories and the ways they have shaped us.

I love supporting clients through trauma, anxiety, and depression. I especially love helping clients feel empowered and confident in who they are. I am a trauma-trained therapist, available for EMDR therapy. I also use a blend of Psychodynamic, Parts work, and Attachment/Emotion-focused therapy. Every session is personalized to fit your unique needs, values, and pace, with a focus on holistic care that addresses the whole person—not just symptoms. My therapy goes above and beyond finding surface-level solutions, and instead, sets out to discover long-term benefits and healing. In my sessions, we explore topics that reconnect you with your values and create goals that best align you to the life you want to live. Together, we’ll set goals, overcome barriers, and create the growth you deserve.

Life can be complicated, messy, and painful. I try to foster an environment in which it feels safe to talk about all of that messiness. I believe the human connection we form through therapy is key to healing and growth. If you choose to work with me, I will use our connection to determine when and how to shift in and out of various roles, so you might experience me as many things: investigator, mentor, observer, coach, ally. But above all, we engage together as fellow human beings living in this complex world, with the shared endeavor of improving your well-being. Good therapy relies on the fit between you and me. If something about my profile resonated with you, I would love to talk more. If you’re not sure about therapy or about whether I can help, maybe we can figure that out together. I charge nothing for our first meeting for that very reason. I’d like to hear your story.

Hi! I’m Dr. Lola Martin, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in California (PSY#32925). I specialize in treating eating disorders and trauma. Healing is possible. No matter who you are, or what happened to you, you deserve to feel safe in your body - and in the world. You can create a life that is meaningful and worth living. My therapeutic approach integrates relational psychodynamic, behavioral, and somatic techniques, tailored to meet each individual’s needs. I completed my pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training in clinical psychology at UCLA, where I worked for many years alongside my private practice. In addition to my clinical practice, I have had the privilege of teaching at several academic institutions across Los Angeles, where I’ve contributed to the training of future mental health professionals. Committed to lifelong learning, I regularly pursue continuing education in my areas of expertise. My clients and colleagues have observed that I possess an authentic, warm, humble therapeutic style, with a focus on insight development and lasting change. I am particularly interested in how social identities related to culture, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, body size, and ability intersect with your unique mental health experiences. I look forward to meeting you!

Are you feeling stuck in life, wanting something different but not sure what it is or how to get there? Maybe you are overwhelmed with the pressure to be perfect in relationships, school or work, resulting in the feeling of never being good enough. The decision to seek therapy is not easy. It means accepting the fact that we are struggling in some facet of our life and need help. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, specializing in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Brainspotting and Psychedelic Integration Therapy, helping clients identify and heal the roots of their distress.

Heart Theory focuses on emotion-focused therapy as an overarching gateway into and through the work. We work with individuals, couples and families helping them navigate through past traumas, symptoms of need, and developing a meaningful process through conceptualizing the problem story.

All of my work involves Somatic Mindfulness. With Somatic work, we often forget that the body is the faculty whereby all of our consciousness is born. Without our senses we would not be able to experience our lives. When we live in our heads we lose the combined force of an aligned mind-body system. Body wisdom, awareness, critical thinking, and investigation allow us to live in the present, and feel comfortable, embodied, and alive. The existential facet of my work focuses on choice. Oftentimes in life, we forget that we have so many choices and possibilities available to us, even choices that seem challenging but that may help us flex new muscles for psychological growth. Realizing that you have both choice and agency brings real empowerment to your life. I work as a psychodynamic psychotherapist utilizing somatic, existential, and psychodynamic practices to help you reflect and explore. The work we do revolves around what is alive in you at the moment, as well as managing the energy in the room and what feels most pervasive to you.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

At Healista, we believe everyone has the power within themselves to make change, they just sometimes need a little help along the way. We help clients connect to their inner safety by nurturing their intuitive skills to cope with life stressors and traumas with more ease and resilience in their daily lives. We believe in looking at the whole picture of your life to help you find clarity. We also believe in giving it to you straight, yet always wrapped in warmth and love and lot’s of laughter.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

At New Wave Youth and Family Therapy Services, we provide affordable, trauma-focused mental health care to children, adolescents, and families. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we combine evidence-based therapies with compassionate, culturally inclusive care to make healing accessible for all. With in-person and telehealth services, we're building a healthier, more resilient community—one individual and family at a time.

The clients I work best with are often navigating significant life transitions, managing mood disorders, or healing from past trauma. Many of them feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about the path forward, whether due to anxiety, depression, or challenges in their personal or professional lives. I specialize in psychological testing, not just to diagnose conditions like ADHD but to help individuals gain a deeper understanding of themselves—their strengths, struggles, and the patterns that shape their experiences. My approach is collaborative and supportive, helping clients make sense of their emotions and challenges so they can move forward with clarity and confidence.

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.