San Diego Therapy for Entrepreneurs & Business Owners
From the outside, it looks like you've got it handled—the team, the clients, the growth.
What people don't see is the worry you carry home, the boundaries that keep slipping, the quiet question of who's taking care of you. If that's you, you're in the right place.
At Dr. Cassidy & Co, our San Diego therapists specialize in supporting business owners and entrepreneurs like you—the ones who are successful but struggling, the ones who are everything to everyone at home and at work.
Meet our team here and reach out when you’re ready to begin—we have openings now.
As an entrepreneur, so much of what you're carrying is invisible.
Being your own boss can be the most freeing and the most isolating thing you've ever done, sometimes in the very same afternoon. The wins are yours, but so is every worry—and a lot of that weight stays tucked out of sight, where the people around you can't see it.
If any of this sounds familiar, you're in good company:
"I haven't taken a real, guilt-free day off in longer than I can remember."
"I lie awake imagining worst-case scenarios, even when everything is going well."
"Everyone leans on me—but who do I get to lean on?"
"I keep waiting for someone to realize I have no idea what I'm doing."
"I honestly can't tell where my business ends and I begin anymore."
If you found yourself nodding along to even one of these, please hear this: you're not broken. You're carrying a real load—and you don't have to carry it by yourself. Therapy can offer you a dedicated space to process, get support, and develop real tools to use to make meaningful change.
Jump to a therapist
Dr. Cassidy Freitas, LMFT: A good fit for multi-passionate founders wearing a dozen hats (and maybe raising kids while they're at it)
Mackenna Minehan: A good fit for founders caught in anxious overthinking—especially those living or working bi-coastally
Dr. Niki Sarrafian: A good fit for business owners whose work stress is spilling into their relationship or marriage
Reilley Valenzona: A good fit for business owners who feel anxious and overwhelmed and could use some practical, grounding tools
Dr. Alex Shrake: A good fit for entrepreneurs whose old wounds and imposter syndrome tends to surface under pressure
Not sure which therapist is a match for you? Connect with us, and we can help you find a fit.
Meet our San Diego entrepreneur therapists
Dr. Cassidy Freitas, LMFT
A good fit for multi-passionate founders wearing a dozen hats (and maybe raising kids while they're at it)
As the founder of this practice, an author, a podcaster, and a course creator, I know the entrepreneur's mental load from the inside: the blurry boundaries, the identity that gets all wrapped up in the work, the perfectionism that likes to call itself "high standards."
I've built a multi-stream business while raising three kids, and I also coach other therapists as they grow their own practices.
In our work together, I help high-achievers gently untangle anxiety and self-doubt from their drive, so your ambition can feel sustainable instead of all-consuming.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #91256, PhD in Marital and Family Therapy, author of Mom Needs a Moment; host of the Holding Space podcast
Specialty Areas: Pregnancy, postpartum, anxiety, depression, parenting, trauma, EMDR
Mackenna Minehan
A good fit for founders caught in anxious overthinking—especially those living or working bi-coastally
If your mind tends to spiral into worst-case scenarios—the deal that won't close, the email you wish you hadn't sent, the future you can't control—I really do get it, and I gave a TEDx talk on this very thing: overcoming anxiety one thought at a time.
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I help entrepreneurs notice the thought patterns driving their stress and gently shift focus toward what's actually within their control.
Plus, I’m licensed in both California and New York, so I'm a good fit for founders building bi-coastal lives or businesses.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #117772
Specialty Areas: Parenting, postpartum, anxiety, depression, trauma, couples
Dr. Niki Sarrafian
A good fit for business owners whose work stress is spilling into their relationship or marriage
When you pour everything into your business, the people closest to you often feel it first.
As a clinical psychologist whose doctoral research focused on how relational support shapes our well-being, I help business owners protect their most important relationships from the spillover of work stress.
Whether you're navigating an identity shift, some communication strain with your partner, or the quiet loneliness that can come with leadership, I offer a warm, collaborative space where you can feel like yourself again.
Credentials: Licensed Psychologist #33628, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
Specialty Areas: Anxiety, depression, couples, identity changes, postpartum, parenting
Reilley Valenzona
A good fit for business owners who feel anxious and overwhelmed and could use some practical, grounding tools
Running a business can leave you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and running on empty—often while everyone around you assumes you've got it all together.
My approach is strengths-based and practical: we build on what's already working for you while adding a few tools to help you feel more grounded when the pressure spikes.
Drawing on evidence-based techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as mindfulness, I help business owners ease the overwhelm and reconnect with a sense of groundedness that they can carry into both their work and their life.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #72905
Specialty Areas: Pregnancy, postpartum, anxiety, depression, trauma, EMDR, parenting
Dr. Alex Shrake
A good fit for entrepreneurs whose old wounds and imposter syndrome tends to surface under pressure
The pressures of business ownership have a way of stirring up old wounds, like the fear of not being enough, patterns we swore we'd never repeat, and the drive to keep proving ourselves over and over again.
I help entrepreneurs get curious about the deeper stories beneath their stress, drawing on training in EMDR and years spent focused on trauma, attachment, and gently breaking old cycles.
If your success has been resting on a foundation of anxiety or the feeling that you’re never quite enough, I'd love to help you build something a little steadier underneath it.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor #9425, Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, EMDR-trained
Specialty Areas: Birth trauma, postpartum, anxiety, depression, parenting, EMDR
How therapy can help business owners & entrepreneurs
Untangle your worth from your wins
When your business is thriving, you feel wonderful. When it dips, so does your sense of self. Therapy can help you gently separate who you are from what you produce so your worth isn't riding on your latest set of numbers.
Build boundaries that actually hold
You know you "should" log off, but the line between work and life keeps dissolving. Together, we'll shape boundaries that protect your time, your rest, and your relationships—and that feel doable, not just aspirational.
Soften the anxiety and overthinking
Business ownership demands that you’re constantly “on.” Therapy offers real, usable tools to quiet some of that noise so you can meet your business from a steadier, clearer place, without asking you to “just stop thinking about it.”
Tend to burnout before it takes over
Pushing through exhaustion can work for a while—until it really doesn't. We'll help you notice the early signs of burnout and resentment and make small changes now, so you can keep doing the work you love without losing yourself along the way.
What sets our practice apart from other San Diego therapy practices
Founder with lived experience. Our founder has been in practice since 2011 and runs a multi-stream business of her own, so we intimately understand an entrepreneur's mental load.
A team who actually gets it. Our clinicians include a published author, a TEDx speaker, and therapists who know perfectionism and ambition from the inside, so your struggles aren’t simply theoretical to us.
A whole team to choose from. Instead of one-size-fits-all, you can find the specific therapist who fits your goals, your personality, and your pace.
Specialized training that goes deep. From EMDR to anxiety and OCD/ERP, our team brings advanced training, not just general talk therapy.
Flexible, virtual-first care across California, New York, and Nevada, along with in-person availability and EMDR intensives in San Diego.
FAQs about EMDR therapy
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So normal. Some of the most driven, successful people you know are in therapy—precisely because the stakes, the isolation, and the pressure of running a business are that intense. Working with a therapist isn't a sign something's wrong with you; it's a sign you're taking your well-being as seriously as you take your work.
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Anything and everything! Some of the things that tend to come up:
Anxiety, stress, and overthinking
Perfectionism and the fear of being "found out"
Boundaries between work, family, and rest
Burnout, resentment, and running on empty
Identity—who you are when you're not producing
Relationships feeling the strain of the business
Whatever's weighing on you, there's space for it here.
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We hear this so often—and honestly, feeling too busy to slow down is often the clearest sign it might be time to. Our sessions are virtual, so there's no commute eating into your day. Many clients meet between meetings or over a lunch break. Fifty minutes a week has a way of giving the rest of your week back.
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A business coach supports you with strategy, systems, and external goals that are specifically related to your company. A therapist is a licensed mental health professional who supports the internal side of entrepreneurship: the anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, relationships, and identity struggles that often come with running a business. Coaching isn't therapy, and the two can actually work beautifully alongside each other. We're simply here for the human behind the business.
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It depends—and this is a wonderful question for your CPA. Therapy for your own mental health is generally treated as a personal medical expense rather than a business deduction, even when business stress is exactly why you're going. Some owners pay using HSA or FSA funds. A tax professional can tell you what applies to your particular situation.
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Yes, therapy is often covered by insurance. That said, we're an out-of-network practice, which means we don't bill insurance directly—but many clients still get reimbursed. We provide superbills you can submit to your plan, accept HSA/FSA cards, and partner with Mentaya, a service that helps you check your out-of-network benefits and file claims. We're always happy to walk you through your options.
Start working with a San Diego therapist for business owners today
