Licensed to practice in California and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in ADHD, Anxiety, Emotional Regulation and 7 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
I am Daniel Marshall, MSW, LCSW, an independent therapist based in San Diego providing dedicated 60-minute individual therapy sessions. My practice centers on culturally responsive, evidence-based care tailored to adults navigating anxiety, major life transitions, relationship dynamics, and identity development. I cultivate a grounded, collaborative, and entirely judgment-free space where you can dismantle unhelpful patterns, reconnect with your authentic agency, and build sustainable, practical strategies for long-term emotional resilience and personal clarity.
Your first 60-minute session is a comfortable, low-pressure space to unpack what is going on without judgment. We will explore what brought you in, map out your immediate stressors, and define what genuine relief looks like for you. You will walk away with grounded clarity, a collaborative roadmap, and the comfort of having a direct, dedicated advocate firmly in your corner.
I bring a rare blend of direct clinical expertise, grounded warmth, and sharp, candid insight that cuts through the noise. With over a decade of behavioral health leadership, I meet clients with genuine attunement, practical accountability, and zero clinical stiffness. My sessions prioritize tangible progress, deep self-awareness, and lasting empowerment over passive nod-along therapy.
My ideal clients are teens and adults who are self-reflective, motivated for meaningful change, and tired of just going through the motions. Whether you are navigating school pressures, complex identity and creative transitions, chronic anxiety, or shifting relationship dynamics, you are ready to engage authentically. You appreciate real talk, direct feedback, and practical tools to build steady self-worth rather than generic advice.
I integrate DBT informed skills into outpatient sessions as a practical, direct toolkit for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal communication. Rather than treating emotions as obstacles, we focus on balancing radical self-acceptance with actionable behavioral change. Mindfulness & Grounding: Teaching concrete methods to observe and describe internal states without self-judgment, interrupting automatic spirals before they escalate into overwhelming anxiety or reactivity. Distress Tolerance (TIPP & STOP Skills): Equipping teens and adults with physiological and cognitive strategies to survive acute emotional crises without engaging in impulsive, self-defeating behaviors. Emotion Regulation: Identifying the anatomy of specific emotional triggers, uncoupling primary feelings from secondary reactions, and utilizing opposite action to reshape unproductive habits. Interpersonal Effectiveness (DEAR MAN): Coaching clients to assert boundaries, express needs clearly, and navigate high-stakes conflict with family, peers, or partners while maintaining personal self-respect. This framework gives clients structured, repeatable tools they can immediately test outside the therapy room to stay steady during real-world chaos.
I utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as an active, collaborative framework to help clients identify, challenge, and rewire automatic thought patterns that drive anxiety, self-doubt, and avoidance. Rather than passively rehashing problems, we treat beliefs as testable hypotheses. Cognitive Restructuring: Pinpointing specific distortions—such as catastrophizing, mind-reading, and all-or-nothing thinking—and replacing harsh internal narratives with balanced, reality-based assessments. Behavioral Activation: Dismantling paralysis and depression by introducing intentional, values-driven actions that disrupt withdrawal loops and rebuild momentum. Exposure & Avoidance Tracking: Gradually confronting anxiety-provoking situations, social settings, or school/career pressures in structured, manageable steps to build distress tolerance and confidence. Actionable Skill-Building: Utilizing thought records, problem-solving frameworks, and real-time behavioral experiments that clients apply between sessions to measure tangible, day-to-day progress.
I use Attachment-Based Therapy to help clients map how early relational blueprints dictate their current patterns in dating, friendships, family dynamics, and self-worth. By bringing subconscious attachment styles into conscious view, we shift relationship dynamics from defensive reactions to intentional connection. Deconstructing Attachment Styles: Pinpointing anxious, avoidant, or disorganized patterns to understand why certain relational triggers provoke hyper-vigilance, emotional shutdown, or sudden withdrawal. The Therapeutic Alliance as a Secure Base: Providing a consistent, transparent, and non-judgmental container where clients can experience a reliable relational dynamic, test vulnerability, and unlearn the expectation of rejection. Reparenting & Internal Safety: Guiding clients to validate their own emotional needs instead of outsourcing self-worth or abandoning themselves to keep the peace with others. Relational Boundary Repair: Transforming relationship fears into clear, direct communication, enabling clients to step out of people-pleasing or emotional isolation and build secure, reciprocal bonds.