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Therapists for college students near San Francisco, CA

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Nicole Lako
Marriage & Family Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I help teens and young adults seeking help with depression, anxiety, stress management, self-criticism/perfectionism, and improving communication and relationships. I apply multiple techniques including CBT and mindfulness practices.

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Lori Kandels
Marriage & Family Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I help people to resolve anxiety and trauma using a combination of talk therapy and somatic practices. Changing your mind isn’t enough, you have to change the way that you feel in your body. Simple practices like EMDR, Brainspotting and EFT can help you to make lasting changes in your life.

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Ruth Rayikanti
Psychiatrist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Hi! I’m Dr. Ruth Rayikanti, a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and the Founder of A Blank Canvas. My greatest passion is helping people find clarity, confidence, and deep inner peace so they can live life with intent, purpose and presence. I was raised in San Francisco and went to UC Davis for my undergraduate studies. After earning my medical degree at Ross University, I completed my psychiatry residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, followed by a year of specialized training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente. But beyond credentials, what truly defines my approach is that I take the time to listen to your story, understand your goals, and provide compassionate, evidence-based care tailored uniquely to you as a whole person. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with high-achieving individuals including students who are navigating life transitions, burnout, or feeling disconnected from themselves. Whether you’re managing ADHD, anxiety, depression, or simply seeking to connect with who you truly are, together we will explore solutions that create real, meaningful change in your life. Outside of my private practice, I founded A Blank Canvas, a wellness platform dedicated to mindfulness, inner peace, and peak performance. This space is designed to help individuals reconnect with themselves in a deeper way and realign with their purpose. I believe within each of us lies a blank canvas – a place of infinite potential waiting to be expressed. If you’re seeking a psychiatrist who sees you beyond your symptoms and will partner with you to create lasting transformation, I invite you to reach out. I look forward to connecting with you. Be well!

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Seth Ambrose
Marriage & Family Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I tend to work with clients who are exploring Queer/LGBTQ+ identities. I help clients explore sexuality, sex, and identity. This includes healing from histories of oppression and discrimination, work around coming out, and exploring relationships. I also work with clients suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression.

Photo of Poya Lai
Poya Lai
Pre-Licensed Professional
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Many people begin therapy feeling emotionally exhausted, stuck, or unsure of where they belong. This can be especially true for those navigating multiple cultures, identities, and expectations at once. When family values, cultural norms, and personal needs don’t fully align, it’s common to feel pulled in different directions—or to quietly lose touch with yourself. Over time, this strain may show up as burnout, anxiety, relationship stress, or a lingering sense that something isn’t quite right, even if everything looks “fine” on the outside. I take a collaborative, culturally responsive approach to therapy that honors the complexity of your lived experience. I don’t believe there is one “right” way to feel, heal, or move forward—especially when identity, family dynamics, and cultural expectations play such a central role in your life. My work integrates evidence-based modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion-Focused Therapy, family systems therapy, and person-centered approaches. Together, we will make sense of patterns shaped by your past experiences and relationships while building practical coping skills that support meaningful, sustainable change. I earned my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of San Francisco. During graduate training, I completed my internship at Gateway Public Schools, where I worked with adolescents ages 11–18. In this role, I supported students navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, and a wide range of family-related and personal challenges, gaining hands-on experience working within complex systems that impact young people’s emotional well-being. Over time, clients often gain greater emotional clarity, self-trust, and a stronger sense of agency—feeling more empowered to live in ways that feel authentic rather than obligatory. Therapy is a space where you don’t have to choose between parts of yourself—you can bring all of you into the room. My goal is to create a supportive and affirming therapeutic space where you feel genuinely seen, heard, and understood. We will explore how family dynamics, identity development, and cultural influences have shaped your experiences, while also focusing on what matters most to you moving forward. Outside of therapy, I value humor, perspective, and taking meaningful chances in life. One quote that resonates with me is: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky — Michael Scott. This mindset reflects my belief in growth, courage, and the importance of showing up for yourself—even when the next step feels uncertain.

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Beverly Wong
Pre-Licensed Professional
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I’m so glad you’re here. Taking the first step toward therapy can feel daunting. Maybe you feel misunderstood, overwhelmed, or like you have to handle everything on your own. Whatever you’re carrying, I want you to know that you don’t have to navigate it alone. I’m here to support you as you step outside your comfort zone and move toward growth, self-discovery, and healing. As someone who was once a student myself, I understand how challenging it can be to manage anxiety, depression, perfectionism, shifting relationships, grief, trauma, and everything in between—on top of trying to keep up with school and the pressures of “figuring it all out.” I work with college students at all stages—whether you’re adjusting to campus life, pushing through to the next break, preparing for graduation and the uncertainty ahead, or returning to school after time away. Whoever you are, this is a space where you can show up exactly as you are, without judgment. As a child of immigrants, I’ve personally navigated the complexities of balancing cultural expectations, identity, and belonging. My own journey has deepened my empathy and passion for helping others find clarity, self-acceptance, and peace in their own stories. Students come to me for all kinds of reasons—managing stress, navigating friendships and relationships (yes, even situationships), figuring out what’s next, or simply having a space to process it all. Whatever brings you to therapy, we’ll approach it with curiosity, compassion, and maybe even some laughter along the way. Whether this is your first time in therapy or you’re continuing your journey, I’m honored to support you every step of the way.

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Ned Klein
Pre-Licensed Professional
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I work primarily with adolescent and adult men who feel stuck and want more from life. Whether you're facing social difficulties, academic pressures, anxiety, family transitions, or adjusting to life away from home, I can help. Being a young adult is hard. Therapy is a safe place to discuss the things that are difficult to talk about with your family or friends.

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Olivia Waldorf
Pre-Licensed Professional
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Welcome — I'm so glad you're here. You are so not alone in what you're carrying and you don't have to have it all figured out to move forward; this is exactly where we start. Being in college can be a huge adjustment, one that often comes with anxiety, loneliness, major academic pressure, and figuring out how to build authentic community. Whether you're navigating academic pressure, relationships, family stress, sexuality, gender exploration, or just the uncertainty of what comes next, I want to be in that space with you. Together we'll find insight using creative expression, mind-body connection, and shedding the internalized ideas of who we think we’re supposed to be. This is a place where everything is process over product and where we are actively seeking the imperfect. My approach is rooted in deep empathy, expressive arts, somatic practices, social justice lenses, and whole-person centered frameworks. I specialize in working with identity exploration, neurodiversity, queer folks, as well as young adults navigating the internal and external complexities of college life. We will start our work together with meeting right where you are and will walk together the rest of the way. My goal is to help you find more empowered, centered, and become more connected to yourself and others. Through our time together, however long that might be, my hope is that you're able to explore the many wonderful, scary, and magical layers that we hold. You can find me in my virtual office space or in-person at my Hayes Valley office. When I’m not sitting in the therapist chair, I’m usually guiding expressive arts workshops, working with queer & trans youth, reading multiple books at one time, out enjoying nature, or spending lots of time adventuring. I hope we get to meet soon! "I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become." - Carl Jung

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Emily Hunt, PhD
Psychologist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I specialize in working with college students and young adults who are navigating the pressure to excel while managing anxiety, burnout, depression, relationship difficulties, and identity exploration. Many of my clients are thoughtful, driven, and self-aware, yet find themselves feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or disconnected from the life they've worked so hard to build. In therapy, I provide a supportive and nonjudgmental space to slow down, make sense of what you're experiencing, and develop tools for lasting change. My style is warm, relational, and evidence-based, helping clients build resilience, strengthen relationships, and feel more grounded and confident in themselves.

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Paul Silverman
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Note: I offer easy-to-use and secure remote video sessions. We all need help from time to time, and as a licensed psychotherapist I’m here to help you make things better. If you’re having problems that are tough to solve all by yourself, I’m here to share what I know, to help you figure out how you got here, and to work with you to change things. I specialize in an approach called Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or “CBT.” Your experience of therapy will be as practical and “user-friendly” as possible, so that you’re always clear about how we see the problem and how and why we’re making changes. We want to help you feel better as soon as possible, and stay that way.

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Kate Leffel
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

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Blue Humming Therapy
Group practice
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Blue Humming Therapy provides comprehensive counseling services to individuals, couples, and families to children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. The counselors at BHT provide respectful support as you explore options for positive changes in your life.

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Lia Akhilanda
Clinical Social Work/Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

I work with clients of all ages, including students using a variety of modalities including cognitive-based strategies, somatic therapeutics and EMDR trauma reprocessing. I've worked in student affairs, was a clinical supervisor for graduate students for 10 years and now have a private practice where I love supporting students. I have a sliding fee scale to make therapy more affordable. I specialize in supporting LGBTQI+ students, reducing anxiety, supporting those managing illness or illness with a loved one, and when it fits, incorporating yoga, meditation and somatics. I'm a mix of east-coast-straightforwardness with California-anything-is-possible. My style is approachable, down to earth, and solutions-focused.

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Cheryl Clementson
Marriage & Family Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.

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Rose Gupta
Licensed Psychoanalyst
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Welcome to my practice! As a psychoanalyst, I am available to students who are interested in understanding themselves and their deepest thoughts and feelings which can often include anxiety and doubt. As a clinical social worker, it is also important to consider each person’s family history and current intellectual and social environment in order to maintain an emotional balance while striving to meet your designated life goals

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San Francisco Center for Compassion-Focused Therapies
Group practice
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

At The San Francisco Center for Compassion-Focused Therapies, we provide individual, couple, family, and group therapies for adults in California online, and in-person. Our clinicians apply effective and evidence-based psychotherapy methods that are reputable for addressing emotion regulation related challenges, and facilitating self-compassion. Besides providing therapy, we also conduct practice-informed research focusing on compassion and betterment of psychotherapy. Our Center is a place where psychotherapy, training, and research strive on the foundation of one another.

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Stacy Heiser
Marriage & Family Therapist
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

Hi, I’m Stacy, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who works with neurodivergent adults, especially those with ADHD. I help clients learn how to manage executive functioning challenges, emotional regulation, and relationship struggles with more confidence and self-compassion. As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent adult, I bring both professional and lived experience to my work with clients. Together, we’ll explore how your past experiences and environments have shaped the way you see yourself and the world. Then we'll create a plan that works with your brain and utilizes your strengths. My style is warm and conversational. My approach integrates Adlerian priniciples and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Adlerian therapy helps individuals understand how early experiences shape beliefs like shame or "being lazy." ACT adds tools to manage overwhelm, relate differently to difficult thoughts, and take values-based action. Finding the right therapist is important. If you think I may be a good fit, please feel free to reach out.

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WALTZ Trauma Care and Therapy
Group practice
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

We are trauma therapists who provide trauma-focused therapy through EMDR therapy, relational trauma therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), AEDP, and IFS. We work with BIPOC & AAPI students and international students who have a history of trauma or PTSD. If you are a student who is struggling with past or ongoing difficult family dynamics, a history of eating disorders, substance use issues, sexual assaults or abuse in childhood, or struggling with intimate relationships, friendships, and social relationships, please reach out. We can help! We help you process what happened so you are no longer stuck in the past or in pain.

Photo of Leah K Barison, LPCC
Leah K Barison, LPCC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
San Francisco, CA
Accepting new clients

My approach relies on a warm and trusting therapeutic relationship where we can safely engage in healing work. We will navigate the pains and challenges of today, while fostering an understanding of how the past has played a role - all while inclining toward a meaningful future. I will provide tools for immediate relief as needed to support this process. I often work with folks who are highly sensitive, feel different or misunderstood, have overwhelming emotions, struggle with relationships, have low self-esteem, are queer or questioning, or are seeking to develop identity, purpose, and meaning in life. I would love to talk to you more about how I work, hear about your goals for therapy, and answer any questions you might have. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Elaine Skoulas
Marriage & Family Therapist
Los Angeles, CA
Accepting new clients

Hi, I’m glad you found me! Life can be so stressful and maybe you’ve been experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship issues, symptoms of past trauma, grief and loss, chronic pain, or another current challenge. I want to help create a safe space where we can work through it together. I use my training and experience for a trauma-informed and compassionate approach. I often work with individuals who identify as caretakers, highly sensitive, people pleasers, and perfectionists. Give yourself the much needed self-care and send me an email so we can talk more about what’s been coming up for you. Getting started can be hard, but I’m here to be with you every step of the way.

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