Carlsbad, Vista & Online
Dr. Lindsey G. Robertson
Licensed Psychologist & Co-Owner | Grief, Depression & Life Transitions | she/her
I help adults of all ages make sense of unexpected suffering, unlock chronic emotional pain, navigate seasons of transition, and reconnect with the relationships, truths, and values that bring freedom and flourishing. My style is engaged, compassionate, and candid. I love ideas, and I often bring research and theory into the room to help make sense of what you’re experiencing. Together, we create a space where you can come as you are, feel known, experience relief, and be empowered to grow or make changes from a place of wisdom and compassion rather than fear or shame.
A short introduction
About Dr. Robertson
Dr. Lindsey G. Robertson is a licensed clinical psychologist and, since 2020, a co-owner of Coastal Therapy Group. She provides individual and couples therapy for adults of all ages, with particular depth in grief and loss, persistent depression, anxiety and attachment trauma, adult ADHD and other neurodiversity experiences, and relationship issues. She also offers collaborative therapeutic assessment. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University, completed her APA-accredited internship at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, and her postdoctoral fellowship at California State University San Marcos. She sees clients in person in Carlsbad and Vista and online throughout California.
In her own words
You are worthy of a flourishing life that’s more than just survival mode
The good news is there are reasons for feeling this way, and symptoms are the body’s way of telling us what’s really going on. It is possible to start making sense of the chaos and feel more in control of what has been so painful. With help, you can learn to listen to your body, understand and validate how you got here, gain insights and skills that naturally start to shift things, and effectively address what’s going on at the root, where long-lasting change happens.
Working through pain with the support of a good therapist can bring healing, as well as the ability and confidence to face future obstacles. More than that, it can help us live more fully, deepening our capacity to love, grieve, act, and create in a world that’s full of both injustice and goodness, suffering and joy.
How she works
Care that is compassionate, candid, and down-to-earth
Stress is part of life. Yet there is a kind of stress that can flood us and threaten to undo what we’ve worked hard for. If pressures have been building from every side, maybe it’s starting to feel like too much. You find yourself overwhelmed, irritable, distracted, and emotionally raw, wondering, “What’s wrong with me?” or “Why can’t I pull it together?” Therapy can help.
I know how uncomfortable it can be to struggle, and I know there is risk and energy involved in reaching out for help. I work from a place of compassion and honesty, meeting you where you are and helping you understand how you got here. Whatever brings you to therapy, I look forward to connecting, discussing your situation, and helping you get the help that’s the best fit for you.
Where her work goes deep
Support through grief, depression, and change
Grief & loss
Space to make sense of a death, a loss, or a life that has been altered by suffering, and to grieve in a way that leads toward healing rather than staying stuck. She has also written about Worden’s tasks of mourning and secondary losses for our blog.
Learn more →Depression
For the heaviness, numbness, and self-criticism that can flood in when pressure builds from every side. Together you make sense of the chaos and address what is going on at the root, where longer-lasting change happens.
Learn more →Life transitions
Whether a change you chose or one that arrived uninvited, transitions can shake the routines that used to ground us. She helps you regain energy, a sense of grounding, and a way forward.
Learn more →Ways to work together
Formats to fit what you need
Alongside weekly therapy, Dr. Robertson offers focused ways to work together, useful when you want clarity or meaningful help within a defined stretch of time.
The foundation of the work. Weekly individual or couples sessions, in person in Carlsbad or Vista, or online throughout California.
Support for relationships navigating conflict, transition, or distance, helping you understand each other and reconnect.
About Couples Therapy →A structured psychological consultation (intake, brief assessment, and a feedback session) for clarity and direction when you are not sure where to start.
About Insight Sessions →Collaborative, therapeutic assessment for greater clarity about what is going on and what would actually help, including ADHD and learning questions.
About Psychological Testing →Research
Making the invisible visible
Alongside her clinical work, Dr. Robertson has conducted original research on invisible labor and the mental load, particularly the thinking work carried by mothers of young children. Her dissertation, Mothers and Mental Labor: A Phenomenological Focus Group Study of the Thinking Work Involved in Parenting and Household Management, was published as a peer-reviewed article in Psychology of Women Quarterly and received the journal’s Georgia Babladelis Best Paper Award.
She continues to be passionate about the validation, relief, and empowerment that can come from making the invisible realities of our lives more visible to ourselves and others.
Published paper
Robertson, L. G., Anderson, T. L., Hall, M. E. L., & Kim, C. L. (2019). Mothers and mental labor: A phenomenological focus group study of family-related thinking work. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(2), 184–200.
Georgia Babladelis Best PWQ Paper Award, Society for the Psychology of Women (APA Division 35), 2020
Credentials as a Psychologist
- Licensed Clinical Psychologist, California (PSY30459)
- Co-owner, Coastal Therapy Group (since 2020)
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship, California State University San Marcos, Integrated Health and Counseling Services
- Pre-Doctoral Internship, Virginia Commonwealth University and Medical Center, University Counseling Services (APA-accredited)
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PhD), Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University (APA-accredited)
- Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MA), Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University (APA-accredited)
Areas of Specialized Experience
- Grief & Loss
- Depression
- Anxiety & Stress
- Life Transitions & Seasons of Change
- Couples & Relationships
- LGBTQ+ Issues
- Christian & Catholic Clients
- Young Adults
- Mothers of Young Children
- Graduate Students
- Health Professionals
- ADHD & Learning Disorders
- Therapeutic Assessment
- Online Therapy (California)
Before you reach out
Questions clients tend to ask first
What do you help people with?
I work with adults and couples of all ages who are carrying more than they can hold. A lot of my work is with grief and loss, depression, anxiety and stress, and life transitions, whether that is a change you chose or one that arrived uninvited. Underneath the specific issue, I help you make sense of what you are going through and reconnect with the relationships, truths, and values that nurture freedom and flourishing.
Do you work with individuals and couples?
Yes, I provide both individual therapy and couples therapy. Sometimes people start individually and later bring a partner in, or the reverse. We can talk through what fits your situation on a free consultation call.
I am going through a big life transition. Can therapy help?
Very much so. Sometimes we enter a season of change we anticipated or chose, and sometimes our lives are altered by suffering. Transitions, even good ones, can be disorienting, if not devastating. They shake up the routines that used to ground us. If you are in a season of change that has been hard to navigate, you do not have to go through it alone. I help you make sense of what you are going through, regain a sense of grounding, and find your way forward.
Do you work with people of faith?
Yes. I have particular experience working with Christian and Catholic clients, and I welcome people of all faiths and of no faith. Your beliefs and values are part of who you are, and you are welcome to bring as much or as little of that into the work as feels right to you.
What is your style like?
I have an engaged, compassionate, candid, and down-to-earth style. I seek to create a space where you can be yourself, feel understood, experience relief, and grow as a person. I know there is risk and energy involved in reaching out for help, and I do not take that lightly.
Do you offer psychological assessment?
I do. I offer collaborative, therapeutic assessment for greater clarity about what is going on and what would genuinely help, including questions about ADHD and learning. If a different kind of testing is a better fit, I will point you to the right person on our team.
Where do sessions take place?
In person at our Carlsbad and Vista offices, and online throughout California. Many clients do a mix depending on the week and what they are working on.
What is the first step?
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We will talk through what you are navigating and whether we are a good fit, and from there we can book a first full session, usually within a week.