Addiction therapists & psychiatrists in Atascadero, CA

Hi, my name is Suzanne. I have 15 years of diverse professional experience and extensive training. I specialize working with individual adults and teens. I am a published writer, and lecturer. I am certified specialist in fields including Advanced Grief, Trauma, and Women's Mental Health,. I hold Certificates in Narcissism and Trauma Bonding in Toxic Relationships and Stress Management. You can learn more about my background and work at my practice website CaliforniaTherapy.com

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California since 2008. My work is grounded in compassion, collaboration, and respect for each client’s unique life story.

I support clients navigating anxiety, depression, stress, health issues, and interpersonal relationship challenges, trauma, grief, aging, and end-of-life concerns. I strive to create a safe, nonjudgmental space where clients can explore challenges, build resilience, and reconnect with their strengths while moving toward greater clarity, healing, and emotional balance.

I believe people carry far more strength, clarity, and resilience than they often realize. My role is to help you understand the emotional patterns and internal narratives that shape your experience, so you can move through life with greater freedom and self‐trust. I’m engaged, attuned, and honest in the room — offering reflection, insight, and steady collaboration as we explore what’s happening beneath the surface. We work at a pace that feels grounded for you, creating space for real change to germinate.

I believe therapy should be a place where you can show up honestly without fear of judgment. My style is warm, direct, and collaborative. I work with adults who feel overwhelmed, disconnected, stuck, or uncertain about their next step. Many of my clients are men navigating relationships, career/school stress, anxiety/depression, fatherhood, major life transitions, and other challenges. I provide a supportive space to explore what's going on beneath the surface while helping you build practical strategies for moving forward. Let's work together to identify the roadblocks in your life and approach the here and now with clarity and intention.

I specialize in helping people feel better, function better, and live more fulfilling lives. If you and/or your family are in transition, whether it be an individual issue, a couples issue, your kids exhibiting stess, managing and adjusting with aging family members, divorce/separation, a simple communication breakdown, changing the effects of multigenerational trauma...call me. I have been working with all this and the symptoms of all this like depression, anxiety, relationship distress, substance misuse, anger, for many years. My work rangesb from short term adjustments, to longer term in depth psychotherapy.

I specialize in helping clients navigating trauma, anxiety, panic disorder, depression, LGBTQ+ issues, grief, & much more. I earned my MSW from New York University in 2011 and have worked as a forensic social worker in NYC at The Legal Aid Society & have also worked with Gay Men's Health Crisis, Services for the Underserved, Footsteps & Office of the Appellate Defender. I moved to Los Angeles in 2017 and have been in private practice since 2018.

Melissa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (CA LCSW #130126) who is passionate about helping individuals find better alignment with their values to create a life worth living. Melissa has experience working with trauma (she is trained in EMDR), substance use, anxiety, depression and life transitions. Melissa has worked in the outpatient, intensive outpatient and residential settings since becoming a social worker in 2020. Melissa employs an individualized, eclectic approach including interventions from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to meet the needs of each client. Melissa is passionate about social justice and uses a systems approach that views individual clients in the context of interconnected systems like family, community and society.