CARLSBAD, ENCINITAS, VISTA, & ONLINE (CA & WA)
Teen therapy in North County San Diego
Your teenager has gone quiet, or angry, or somewhere you can't reach. You're not sure if it's a phase or something more, and you're tired of guessing. Our doctoral-level adolescent psychologists provide teen therapy in Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Vista, working with teens who are anxious, withdrawn, or struggling with who they are, and with the parents trying to help them.
Serving North County since 2018 · Doctoral-level psychologists
How to know when it's more than a phase
Adolescence is supposed to be bumpy. Moodiness, pushback, and the slow pull away from you are part of growing up. So how do you tell ordinary teenage turbulence from something worth taking seriously?
A few signs that often point to more: withdrawal from friends or activities they used to care about, a drop in grades or skipped school, sleep or appetite that has shifted hard in either direction, anger or irritability that seems out of proportion, talk of feeling hopeless or worthless, or anything that makes the hair on your neck stand up. You know your kid. If your gut says something is off, that is reason enough to ask.
Therapy is not a last resort or a sign you've failed as a parent. Often it's the opposite: a steady, private place for your teen to work things out with someone who isn't grading them, parenting them, or scrolling past them.
Why teen therapy?
Teens carry more than they show. Academic pressure, friendship fallout, questions about identity and sexuality, the constant comparison of social media, family tension, grief, trauma, anxiety, depression. Some of it they'll tell you. Most of it they won't.
Therapy gives them a room where they don't have to perform. They can say the thing they can't say to you, or to their friends, and not have it used against them later. From there, real work becomes possible: understanding their own reactions, building skills to handle hard feelings, and figuring out who they want to be.
Our Approach
We take time to actually get to know the teen in front of us before we do anything else. Teens are surrounded by adults with opinions about how they should be. We're more interested in who they already are. That relationship, the sense that someone is genuinely in their corner, is what makes change stick.
Our psychologists are trained across approaches and match them to the teen, not the other way around: attachment-informed psychodynamic therapy, CBT, expressive arts, mindfulness, ERP for anxiety and OCD, and family work. We also stay in contact with parents and caregivers, so the progress your teen makes in the room carries over into the home, the classroom, and the rest of their life.
Where parents fit in
One of the first questions parents ask is some version of: will I know what's going on? The honest answer is that your teen needs enough privacy to be honest, and you need enough information to parent well. We talk openly about how that balance works, including what stays confidential and what we'd always tell you (anything involving their safety).
You're not on the sidelines here. We'll loop you in on themes and progress, offer guidance on what your teen needs from you at home, and bring the family into sessions when it helps. The goal isn't to take your kid off your hands. It's to help you understand them again.
Meet Our Teen Therapists
Not sure where to start? Our care coordinator can match you with the right psychologist based on your needs, schedule, and goals. Or scroll through our team below to learn about each clinician.
C. Julieta Aguilera Rice, PhD
Trilingual (English/Spanish/French)
Clare Edwards, PhD
Chelsea Dudley, PsyD
Lisette Montañez, PsyD
Sean Noe, PhD
Jenna Suway, PhD
Naomi Wu, PsyD
Bethany Ling, PsyD
Julia Avila, PhD
Reid Kessler, PsyD
Teens don't open up because you tell them to. They open up when they decide you're safe.
Our Offerings
Individual therapy. One-on-one sessions give your teen a confidential place to work through what they're carrying and build the skills to handle it.
Family therapy. When the strain is between people, the work happens between people. These sessions focus on communication, repairing conflict, and rebuilding connection.
Expressive therapy. Teens don't always want to talk, and they don't always have words for it yet. Art and writing give them another way in.
Psychological testing. When you want to understand what's actually going on, testing can answer questions that talk therapy alone can't: ADHD, learning and academic functioning, and broader personality assessment. We use the results to guide treatment, not just to hand you a label.
Common questions from parents
How do I know if my teen actually needs therapy?
If your teen's mood, sleep, grades, friendships, or behavior have shifted in a way that worries you, or if your instinct says something is off, that's enough to start with a conversation. You don't need a crisis or a diagnosis to justify reaching out. A free consultation is a low-stakes way to figure out whether therapy makes sense right now.
My teen says they don't want to go. What do I do?
Very common, and not a dealbreaker. A lot of teens come in skeptical and warm up once they realize the therapist isn't there to lecture them or report back to their parents. We're experienced at building trust with reluctant teens. It often helps to frame the first session as a try-it-once, no-commitment meeting rather than an ongoing plan.
Will the therapist tell me what my teen says in session?
Your teen needs a degree of privacy to be honest, so we don't relay session details word for word. What we will always share is anything involving their safety. At the start, we talk through exactly how confidentiality works so you and your teen both know what to expect.
How long does teen therapy take?
It depends on what's going on. Some teens come for a focused stretch around a specific issue; others benefit from longer support through a hard season. We'll give you a sense of the picture after the first few sessions and revisit it together as things change.
Do you offer psychological testing?
Yes. We provide comprehensive psychological evaluations for ADHD, autism, learning differences, and personality. Testing is conducted by our doctoral-level psychologists and includes a detailed report with clear recommendations — not just a diagnosis, but a roadmap for what to do next. Visit our Psychological Testing page to learn more or schedule an evaluation.
Let's get started.
