COUNSELING FOR WOMEN IN SAN DIEGO

A place where you don’t have to hold everything together

Get Started

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

You’re used to being the person everyone can count on. You show up for work, family, friendships, and all the little things that keep life moving. But when you’re constantly taking care of everyone else, it can be easy to lose track of what you need.

Maybe you feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or like you’re always second-guessing yourself. You may have a hard time setting boundaries, asking for help, or speaking up without worrying about how someone else will react. Even when life looks fine from the outside, you may feel anxious, exhausted, or alone underneath it all.

Sometimes those feelings show up as irritability, shutting down, overthinking, or getting emotional when you least expect it.

You don’t have to keep carrying everything on your own. Counseling for women in San Diego can give you space to slow down, understand what’s been weighing on you, and start making room for yourself again.

WHERE WILL YOU GO?

You want to feel more like yourself again, not just better at keeping up with everything.

Maybe that means trusting your own decisions, saying what you need without overthinking it, or setting boundaries without feeling guilty afterward. You may want to feel less anxious, more confident, and more connected to the parts of yourself that have gotten pushed aside.

You want relationships where you feel seen, not just depended on. You want to understand old patterns without letting them keep running the show. And you want to feel more comfortable choosing what works for you, even when it’s different from what other people expect or prefer.

Therapy isn’t about optimizing yourself to meet endless needs or losing what matters most to you. It’s about helping you feel more grounded, more secure in who you are, and more present in your own life.

HOW WILL YOU GET THERE?

There’s no single way to feel better, and we don’t believe in rushing the process. Real change often starts with understanding the patterns you’ve fallen into, where they came from, and what you may need now instead.

Our therapists offer steady, practical support, while helping you make sense of what you’re carrying. Depending on what brings you to counseling for women in San Diego, your treatment may include:

Individual therapy to strengthen self-awareness, confidence, and boundaries.
Trauma-informed therapy to work through experiences that still affect how you feel, think, or relate to others.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for anxiety, mood changes, and self-critical thought patterns.
Mindfulness and body-centered approaches to help you feel more grounded and connected to your body.
Art therapy when words don’t always feel like enough.
Couples or family therapy to improve communication, repair conflict, and build stronger relationships.
Group therapy for support and connection with other women facing similar challenges.

You don’t have to wait until things feel unbearable to ask for help. If something in your life isn’t working the way you want, therapy gives you the space to recognize the broken parts, validate your own needs, and decide what comes next.

Get Started

Jump to a therapist

Meet our San Diego teen counselors

Breanne Dargon, LMFT

I’ve spent more than 15 years working in long-term residential treatment, so I’m comfortable helping women through the complicated, messy parts of trauma, anxiety, depression, family and relationship struggles. As a female therapist in San Diego, my approach is grounded in Systems Theory, which means we look at how relationships, roles, and environment shape what you’re carrying. I’m steady, direct, and compassionate, and I’m not afraid to sit with you through the hard parts while we work toward meaningful change.

Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist # 99204
Specialty Areas: Trauma, anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship issues, Bipolar Disorder, Personality Disorders, Schizophrenia, family support for loved ones navigating serious mental illness

Contact Breanne

Victoria Perez, LCSW

As a bilingual therapist in English and Spanish, I especially enjoy helping teens and young women work through anxiety, trauma, school stress, self-esteem, and difficult family transitions. Growing up in a close-knit Mexican American family in San Diego also shapes the cultural awareness I bring into the room. I offer a warm, practical space where you can speak openly, build confidence, and develop coping skills that actually fit your life, relationships, and family context.

Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #137980
Specialty Areas: Teen and young adult girls, anxiety, trauma, identity work, school stress, family transitions and divorce, communication, self-esteem, bilingual and culturally responsive care

Contact Victoria

Jennifer Phelps, LMFT

As a Registered Art Therapist, I offer women more than one way to work through anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, and relationship concerns. I blend art therapy with mindfulness, Family Systems, DBT, and person-centered approaches, which can be especially helpful when talking feels too heavy or limiting. I also love working with women who are new to therapy or unsure they even want to be there. My humor, creativity, and down-to-earth style help make the process feel more comfortable and approachable.

Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist # 138186; Registered Art Therapist (ATR 21-224)
Specialty Areas: Art therapy, anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, relationship needs, addiction, schizophrenia, family support

Contact Jennifer

What sets our practice apart from other San Diego women's therapy providers

We look at the whole picture. Our work is grounded in family systems, so we pay attention to the relationships, roles, expectations, and environments that may be contributing to how you feel.
Your support can grow with you. We offer individual, couples, family, and group therapy, which means care can shift as your needs and relationships change—and not rest entirely on your own emotional effort.
We’re comfortable with complicated stories. Our clinicians have experience in academic, residential, and inpatient settings, so trauma, addiction, serious mental illness, and higher-acuity concerns are familiar territory.
We use more than talk therapy. Depending on what works best for you, treatment may include art therapy, body-centered practices, CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and trauma-informed approaches.
We offer bilingual care in English and Spanish. We also understand that culture, family, and community can shape the way you experience stress, relationships, and healing.
We make therapy easier to fit into real life. We have San Diego locations in Chula Vista and Sorrento Valley, with flexible options for women balancing work, family, and other responsibilities.
We don’t reduce you to a diagnosis. We want to understand your experience, not simply label it. Diagnosis can be useful when needed, but it never tells the whole story.
You can expect warmth and honesty. Our female therapists in San Diego are compassionate, direct, and willing to have the difficult conversations with you. You’ll have support without feeling judged, rushed, or told who you should become.

Get Started

FAQs about therapy for women

What is women's therapy?

Women’s therapy isn’t one specific type of therapy. It’s counseling that makes room for the experiences and pressures that often shape women’s lives, including relationships, caregiving, work, identity, family expectations, boundaries, and major life transitions.

It also involves being treated by a female therapist if working with a male therapist is uncomfortable or upsetting.

At Pathways, we use evidence-based approaches while also looking at the bigger picture of your relationships, environment, and experiences. The goal is to give you a space where your needs can be part of the conversation, too.

What kinds of issues do you help women with?

Women come to us for many reasons, and you don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis to reach out. We commonly support women dealing with:

Anxiety, panic, and feeling overwhelmed
Depression and changes in mood
Trauma and difficult past experiences
People-pleasing, boundaries, and assertiveness
Self-doubt, perfectionism, and self-criticism
Relationship or partner conflict
Family stress and parent-teen challenges
Identity changes and life transitions
Addiction and recovery
Loneliness and disconnection
Physical transitions like menopause, perimenopause, pregnancy, and postpartum

If what you’re going through isn’t on this list, that doesn’t mean we can’t help. Reach out, and we can talk about what you need and whether one of our therapists is a good fit.

Is therapy confidential?

Yes. What you talk about in therapy is private, with a few legal and safety-related exceptions. These can include situations involving immediate danger to yourself or someone else, or suspected abuse of a child, elder, or dependent adult.

Your therapist will explain confidentiality and its limits at the beginning of therapy, so you know what to expect before getting into the deeper work.

Should a female see a female therapist?

Not necessarily. The relationship you have with your therapist and how comfortable you feel with them often matter more than gender alone.

That said, some women simply feel more comfortable working with a female therapist in San Diego, particularly when talking about trauma, relationships, body image, family dynamics, or other personal experiences. That preference is completely valid. Our goal is to help you connect with a therapist you feel comfortable being open with.

Do you take insurance for counseling for women in San Diego?

Pathways is a private-pay practice, so we don’t bill insurance directly. If you have a PPO plan, we can provide a monthly superbill that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Coverage varies, so we recommend checking directly with your insurer. Our current session rates are: