Carlsbad, Vista, or Online
Dr. Bethany Ling
Postdoctoral Fellow | Intercultural Couples, Child & Teen Therapy | she/her
I work with individuals and interracial/intercultural couples, helping them explore how culture, race, and background shape their relationships. I also work with children, teens, and parents to strengthen their connections with one another and build healthy and positive relationships beyond the family. I approach therapy with curiosity, empathy, and a deep respect for each person’s unique story and identities.
A short introduction
About Dr. Ling
Dr. Bethany Ling (she/her) is a postdoctoral fellow at Coastal Therapy Group’s Carlsbad and Vista offices. Her practice centers on intercultural and interracial couples, partners whose racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds differ and who want those differences understood rather than set aside, and on children, teens, and their parents, where she works with the relationship as much as with the young person. She also sees adults individually and is part of the practice’s psychological testing team. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology and completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at Mid-Ohio Psychological Services. Her training has spanned community mental health, private practice, and university settings. She sees clients in person in Carlsbad and Vista and online throughout California.
In her own words
When culture is part of the conversation
It’s not always easy to put your feelings into words, especially with the people who matter most. How we connect with others is shaped by how we were raised, the cultural contexts we live in, and the relationships we’ve had along the way. Paying close attention to your specific identities and experiences is central to my work with individuals and interracial/intercultural couples where culture isn’t background noise, but part of the conversation.
When you feel disconnected from yourself, it’s hard to show up as who you really are in any of those spaces. I work from a relational and psychodynamic perspective. The most meaningful work happens when we are able to attend to the parts of yourself that you’ve been hiding or struggling to accept, feel scattered or in conflict.
Whether you are navigating a challenging relationship or life transition therapy offers a supportive place to process these things. I see couples, children, and adults at our Carlsbad and Vista offices. If this sounds like we might be a good fit, I’d welcome you to reach out for a free consultation.
Her primary focus
Therapy for interracial and intercultural couples
When you and your partner come from different racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds, the normal challenges of a relationship carry extra weight. The way you were each taught to express love, handle conflict, relate to family, or talk about money may come from very different places. Those differences can show up in your relationship in ways that feel confusing or hurtful, even when the love between you is real.
I work with interracial and intercultural couples who want to understand each other more deeply, not just on the surface, and the ways that culture, race, and your upbringing have shaped who you each are. This might mean exploring how your families respond to your relationship, making sense of dynamics around race or privilege that feel hard to name, or finding ways to honor your identity without feeling the need to conform to each other’s cultural preferences or comfort zones.
Having these conversations isn’t always easy. But, when they happen in a space where both partners feel seen and respected, it can bring you closer together rather than pulling you apart. If you’re looking for a couples therapist in North County San Diego who understands the complexity of navigating cultural differences in a relationship, I’d welcome the chance to talk.
Book a Free ConsultationChildren, teens & parents
Child and teen therapy, and support for parents in Carlsbad & Vista
I’ve also worked with many children and their parents across private practice and community mental health settings. As a parent, you’re holding a lot, your child’s safety, their academic needs, their social and emotional world, and your own needs as a person. Finding balance isn’t always straightforward, and it’s hard to show up fully for your child when you feel disconnected from yourself.
In my work with families, I explore the relationships that shaped you as a parent, your relationship with your own caregivers and how those experiences show up in your parenting now. My goal isn’t just to support you in parenting. It’s to help you understand yourself more fully, so that the work we do together touches your relationships with your children, your partner, and yourself.
Ways to work together
Formats to fit what you need
Alongside weekly therapy, Dr. Ling offers several focused ways to work together, useful when you want meaningful help within a defined stretch of time.
The foundation. Weekly individual sessions in person in Carlsbad or Vista, or online throughout California.
Ongoing couples work for partners who want to understand how culture, race, and upbringing shaped each of them, and what that means for the relationship.
About couples therapy →One extended session for partners who want to move faster than a weekly hour allows, instead of spreading the work across months. Ask at your consultation whether an intensive fits what you are working on.
About Couples Intensives →Dr. Ling is part of the testing team for evaluations of children, teens, and adults when a diagnostic question needs a real answer.
About testing →Credentials as a Psychological Associate
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Coastal Therapy Group
- Pre-doctoral Internship, Mid-Ohio Psychological Services (APA Accredited)
- Doctorate of Clinical Psychology (PsyD), Fuller Graduate School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy (APA Accredited)
- Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MA), Fuller Graduate School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy (APA Accredited)
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (BA), Azusa Pacific University
Areas of Specialized Experience
- Intercultural & Interracial Couples
- Cultural Identity
- Child Therapy
- Teen Therapy
- Parenting Support & the Parent-Child Relationship
- Spiritual & Religious Identity
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma & Abuse
- Psychological Assessment
- Adults & Life Transitions
Before you reach out
Questions clients tend to ask first
We come from different cultural backgrounds. Is that really something to bring into therapy?
Yes, and it is often the thing underneath the argument you keep having. The way you were each taught to show love, handle conflict, relate to your family, or talk about money comes from somewhere. When those places are different, the difference tends to get read as a character flaw in the other person rather than as culture. Naming it out loud usually takes a lot of pressure off both of you.
Does my partner have to be as invested as I am before we start?
No. It is common for one partner to reach out first while the other is unsure, and that difference is worth talking about rather than solving before the first session. What matters is that both people are willing to come and see how it feels. We can decide together after a few sessions whether it is the right fit.
What does therapy with you actually look like?
I work from a relational and psychodynamic perspective, which means we are not only building skills. We are paying attention to the patterns you each carry, where they came from, and how they meet each other in the room. Sessions are 45 minutes. Some people want a slow, exploratory space, and others come in with something specific they need to work through. We find the rhythm that fits.
Our families have strong opinions about our relationship. Can we work on that?
Often that is exactly what we work on. How your families respond to your relationship, what each of you feels obligated to protect, and what it costs to keep the peace are all fair territory. The goal is not to choose between your family and your partner. It is to understand what you are each carrying so you can decide together how you want to handle it.
Do you work with children and teens, or mostly adults?
Both. I have worked with many children, teens, and their parents across private practice and community mental health, and I see adults individually as well. With younger clients, my work usually includes the parents, because a young person’s world and a parent’s inner life are not separate things.
I am the parent. Will I be part of my child’s therapy?
Yes, in a way that respects your child’s privacy. I explore the relationships that shaped you as a parent and how those experiences show up in your parenting now. My goal is not only to support you in parenting. It is to help you understand yourself more fully, so the work touches your relationships with your children, your partner, and yourself.
How much do sessions cost?
My sessions are $230 for a 45-minute session. We are out of network with insurance, and many clients use out-of-network benefits for partial reimbursement. Our Cost + Info page has current rates and reimbursement details.
Where do sessions take place, and what is the first step?
I see clients in person at our Carlsbad and Vista offices and online throughout California. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation. We talk through what you are navigating and whether we are a good fit, and from there we can book a first full session.