8 San Diego Therapists for Women [No Waitlist]
It’s late. The house is finally quiet. And there you are again, scrolling for the answer: to the anxiety, the resentment, the snapping, the “Why do I feel like this when I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do?” That’s what we’re here for. At Dr. Cassidy & Co., we offer therapy for women in San Diego who are looking for compassion and support from someone who deeply understands what they’re going through.
Jump to a therapist
Julie Kraft: Good fit for women navigating emotional eating
Dr. Cassidy Freitas: Good fit for women wanting EMDR intensives
Mackenna Minehan: Good fit for women wanting CBT-focused anxiety work
Tessa Ritchie: Good fit for women who need evening or weekend appointments
Dr. Alex Shrake: Good fit for women healing from birth trauma
Reilley Valenzona: Good fit for women processing pregnancy loss or TFMR
Dr. Niki Sarrafian: Good fit for couples and identity shifts in motherhood
Renata Cameron: Good fit for women with ADHD or perfectionism
Meet our San Diego counselors for women
Julie Kraft
Good fit for women navigating emotional eating
Hi, I’m Julie. I specialize in supporting women who feel hijacked by their inner critic — especially around emotional eating, parenting, and the messy postpartum identity shift. If you've tried every food rule, plan, or "good week / bad week" cycle and you're tired of the negotiation happening in your own head, I get it. Let's talk. I bring 12+ years of clinical experience, lived experience as a mom of three, and practical tools from ACT, CBT, Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #51864
Specialty Areas: Parenting, postpartum, anxiety, depression, addiction, couples
Dr. Cassidy Freitas, LMFT
Good fit for women wanting EMDR intensives
Hi, I’m Dr. Cassidy. I’m the founder of Dr. Cassidy & Co., author of Mom Needs a Moment, host of the Holding Space podcast, and a mom of three. My own postpartum experience is a big part of why this practice exists. Because the anxiety, the identity unraveling, the loneliness no one warned me about, made it impossible to ignore how few spaces existed for moms to be held in the actual mess of it. I offer warm, nervous-system-informed therapy and in-person EMDR intensives in San Diego for women ready to do deeper healing work.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #91256, PhD in Marital and Family Therapy
Specialty Areas: pregnancy, postpartum, anxiety, parenting, trauma
Mackenna Minehan
Good fit for women wanting CBT-focused anxiety work
Hi, I’m Mackenna. I gave a TEDx talk called Overcoming Anxiety One Thought at a Time, and CBT is at the center of how I work. If your brain loves to replay the thing you said three days ago, rehearse every possible worst-case scenario, or keep you bracing for what’s next, I can help. I specialize in anxiety support through fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, parenting, and relationship shifts, with practical tools you can actually use when your mind gets loud.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #117772
Specialty Areas: Anxiety, depression, parenting, postpartum, trauma, couples
Tessa Ritchie
Good fit for women who need evening or weekend appointments
Hi, I’m Tessa. I’m a Kiwi expat spending the next year in New Zealand, which means I can offer evening and weekend sessions to California women because sometimes the only quiet pocket you have is after work, after bedtime, or after everyone else has been tended to. Clients often choose me for flexible scheduling, practical tools, and a warm, solution-focused style that helps therapy fit real life. I bring years of mental health experience, a warm, solution-focused style, and support for first-time parents, women impacted by addiction, and couples finding their footing in new parenthood.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor #6250
Specialty Areas: Couples, postpartum, anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting
Dr. Alex Shrake
Good fit for women healing from birth trauma
Hi, I’m Dr. Alex. I specialize in birth trauma, postpartum anxiety and depression, parenting, and those moments when your past suddenly shows up in the middle of your present-day parenting. My doctoral research focused on traumatic birth, perinatal mood disorders, infant-parent attachment, and adverse childhood experiences. Clients often choose me when they want someone who understands the research and the real-life tenderness of this work. I bring EMDR training to help you process what happened while feeling more grounded in what’s happening now.
Credentials: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor #9425, Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision
Specialty Areas: Birth trauma, postpartum, anxiety, depression, parenting, EMDR
Reilley Valenzona
Good fit for women processing pregnancy loss or TFMR
Hi, I’m Reilley. I specialize in pregnancy loss, TFMR (termination for medical reasons), prenatal and postpartum anxiety, and the identity shift of becoming a parent for the first time. Clients often gravitate toward me when they want a therapist for women in San Diego who can hold the grief and the joy without rushing either one. I bring specialized perinatal training, EMDR, personal experience, and a deep connection to the local parenting community through Postpartum Health Alliance and Mommy & Me groups.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #72905
Specialty Areas: Pregnancy, postpartum, anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting
Dr. Niki Sarrafian
Good fit for couples and identity shifts in motherhood
Hi, I’m Dr. Niki. I support women through postpartum identity shifts, relationship changes, anxiety, depression, and that strange, quiet grief of not feeling like yourself lately. My doctoral research focused on social support in intimate relationships, and I bring that lens into therapy for women, along with evidence-based practices like Narrative Therapy, ACT, CBT, and Solution-Focused support. If you’re craving a space where you can do both the inner work and the relationship work, I’m here for you.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Psychologist #33628
Specialty Areas: Anxiety, depression, couples, identity changes, postpartum, parenting
Renata Cameron
Good fit for women with ADHD or perfectionism
Hi, I'm Renata. A lot of the women I work with feel pressure to be everything to everyone —the partner, the mom, the professional, the friend who remembers everyone's birthday—and they can't quite figure out why they're so exhausted. I specialize in ADHD in women, OCD and ERP, perfectionism, and trauma recovery. I bring my firsthand experience as a mother, as well as my professional expertise (I founded San Diego Mommy and Me back in 2016 and sit on the board of the San Diego Postpartum Health Alliance), to this work, and I’m passionate about helping women turn the compassion they so freely give others toward themselves.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #82017
Specialty Areas: Postpartum, life transitions, ADHD, anxiety, OCD & ERP, trauma, EMDR, parent coaching
Our therapists are here to meet you with compassion, kindness, and curiosity. Our goal is to make therapy a safe space for you to heal from your traumatic birth, take care of your mental health, and feel like yourself again.
We know that reaching out for support after experiencing a traumatic event can be extremely difficult. Our team is available for complimentary 15-minute phone consultations to address any questions or concerns you have about starting therapy. We encourage you to connect with us to start making meaningful change today.
What sets our practice apart from other San Diego therapy for women providers
A team that already understands the layers. Our clinicians specialize in women’s mental health, perinatal therapy, trauma, relationships, anxiety, and parenting, bringing both clinical expertise and lived experience.
Trusted voices beyond the therapy room. Among our team are authors, podcast hosts, and TEDx speakers—experts in the field who are here to offer their specialized experience for your growth and healing.
Evidence-based care that goes deeper than venting. Yes, we’ll make space for everything you’re carrying—and we’ll also help you understand your patterns and move through them with approaches like EMDR, CBT, ACT, Narrative Therapy, Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy, and Solution-Focused therapy.
Evening and weekend sessions for women with very full lives. Because therapy shouldn’t only be available during the exact hours when you’re working, parenting, commuting, coordinating, or trying to keep the whole household running.
Flexible virtual care. We offer virtual therapy for women in San Diego and throughout California, with select clinicians also serving clients in New York and Nevada.
Care for the relationship side of women’s mental health. We support women and couples through communication breakdowns, resentment, intimacy changes, invisible labor, and the “How did we become roommates?” feeling that can show up during major life transitions.
Simple payment support. We accept HSA/FSA cards, provide superbills, and partner with Mentaya to help with possible out-of-network reimbursement.
FAQs about therapy for women
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Therapy for women’s issues means we’re not looking at your anxiety, burnout, grief, or relationship stress in a vacuum. We’re also looking at the mental load you carry, the body changes, the hormones, the family patterns, the identity shifts, and the pressure to be “fine” while carrying a lot. At Dr. Cassidy & Co., therapy for women in San Diego can support concerns like perfectionism, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, parenting, trauma, grief, and the quiet resentment that builds when your needs keep coming last.
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Nope. While many of our therapists specialize in pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting, you don’t have to be a mom to work with us. We support women through all kinds of life chapters: anxiety, trauma recovery, relationship changes, fertility stress, grief, identity questions, and patterns you’re finally ready to understand differently. If you’re looking for thoughtful counseling for women’s issues in San Diego, you are welcome here.
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Not always. The “best” therapist is the one who helps you feel safe enough to be honest and supported enough to try something different. That said, many women do choose a female therapist because they want someone who may more naturally understand the mental load, reproductive experiences, body changes, cultural pressure, or relationship dynamics they’re carrying. If you’re looking for a therapist for women’s issues in San Diego, our all-female team brings both clinical training and a very real understanding of women’s lives.
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Therapy doesn’t follow a 4-step formula, and we’d be skeptical of anyone selling you one. Some women feel meaningful relief in the first handful of sessions, while deeper trauma or relational work often unfolds over months. We’ll talk openly about your goals and pace from the start, and we’ll keep checking in so you stay in the driver’s seat of your own care.
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That’s exactly what the free 15-minute consultation is for. You don’t have to read every bio, overthink every credential, and somehow magically know who is “the one” before you reach out. Start with the therapist whose specialty feels closest to what you’re navigating, and we’ll help you sort through fit from there. If another therapist on our team makes more sense, we’ll point you in that direction.
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We’re private-pay providers and don’t bill insurance directly. For many clients, this allows for more privacy, flexibility, and control over the therapy process. If you have out-of-network benefits, we can provide a superbill for possible reimbursement, and we also partner with Mentaya to make that process easier. We recommend checking with your insurance provider ahead of time so you know what your plan may cover.
Start working with a San Diego therapist for women today
