Licensed to practice in California and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Depression, Life Transitions, Trauma and PTSD and 10 more.
(she/her)
New to Grow
I’m Dr. Kim, a licensed clinical psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist with more than 25 years of experience in the mental health field. I have worked with children, adolescents, adults, and families in a variety of settings, spending most of my career in public service. After many years of serving families and leading mental health programs, I’m excited to bring that experience into my private practice and create a space where clients can feel genuinely seen, heard, and understood. My own journey has taught me something important about taking meaningful steps forward. I grew up on a small dairy farm in Eastern Canada, where I spent my summers throwing hay and running barefoot through the fields. After discovering psychology during my undergraduate studies, I took a leap of faith and moved across the country to British Columbia for my Master's degree—my first time ever on a plane! A few years later, I made another big leap and immigrated to California to begin my career in public service. Years later, I returned to school for my doctorate in clinical psychology, completing that journey in 2020 and becoming a licensed psychologist in 2025. I share this because I understand that meaningful change often requires courage, even when we aren't entirely sure where the path will lead. I believe therapy is a place to explore that path together. I am warm, caring, honest, and nonjudgmental, and I genuinely enjoy getting to know people and hearing their stories. My goal is to help you understand yourself and your relationships more clearly, get unstuck, and move toward a life that feels more fulfilling and meaningful.
Your first session is a chance for us to get to know one another and begin making sense of what brought you to therapy. I want to hear your story—not just a list of symptoms or problems, but what has been happening in your life, what matters to you, and what you hope might be different. You don't need to arrive with everything figured out. Together, we'll begin exploring what feels stuck, what may be getting in the way, and what you would like to change or better understand. We’ll also begin identifying goals for our work together: Where do you want this journey to lead you? What would you like to feel, do, or experience differently? Just as importantly, the first session gives you an opportunity to see what it is like to work with me. I believe the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important parts of successful therapy. I want you to feel comfortable being honest and being yourself, including sharing the things that may be difficult or uncomfortable to talk about. I’ll bring experience, curiosity, clinical knowledge, compassion, and a healthy sense of humor to our work together. You bring your experiences and perspective. From there, we’ll work collaboratively to determine where to begin and what will be most helpful for you.
I believe one of my greatest strengths is my ability to connect with people. Clients and colleagues have described me as warm, nurturing, kind, caring, and easy to talk to. I genuinely enjoy people, and I believe that getting to know the person behind the problem is essential to good therapy. I also bring more than 25 years of experience in the mental health field, working with individuals and families with a wide range of needs and challenges. I am clinically knowledgeable and thoughtful, but I don't believe therapy should feel like sitting in a classroom or being given a diagnosis. One of my strengths is taking complex psychological concepts and translating them into language that makes sense in everyday life. I am honest and transparent with my clients. I won't judge you, and I won't pretend to have all the answers. If something is outside my immediate area of expertise, I am willing to learn, research, and seek out additional knowledge so that I can provide you with the best care possible. I take that responsibility seriously. I am also comfortable with challenges. I don't shy away from difficult conversations when I believe they can help someone grow. At the same time, I strive to meet clients where they are and come alongside them rather than telling them where they should be. And while therapy can involve difficult and painful work, I believe there is room for humor, laughter, and genuine human connection along the way. What sets my approach apart is the combination of warmth, clinical experience, and a genuine focus on helping people move forward. I believe therapy is about both being understood and making progress. Having someone listen to your story matters, but I also want our work together to help you understand what is happening, recognize patterns that may no longer be serving you, and make meaningful changes. My approach is primarily solution-focused and goal-oriented, while also drawing from narrative and relational perspectives. I am interested in your story and the experiences that have shaped you, but I am equally interested in where you want your story to go next. Together, we can explore the patterns in your relationships, identify what is working and what isn't, and consider what choices might lead to something different. I also believe therapy should feel like a relationship between two human beings—not simply a clinician and a client. I bring my clinical training and more than 25 years of experience, but I also bring warmth, h
Who Is Dr. Kim a Good Fit For? Maybe you're the person everyone else turns to when things go wrong. Maybe you're the one who keeps it together at work, takes care of your family, and shows up for everyone else—even when you're struggling inside. Maybe you've been through things that have changed you. Trauma, abuse, addiction, difficult relationships, or experiences you don't talk about very often. Or perhaps nothing feels particularly “wrong,” but you know you're not where you want to be. You're anxious, unhappy, disconnected, stuck in familiar patterns, or simply wondering, *“Is this really how I want my life to feel?”* These are the people I enjoy working with. I work with children, adolescents, and adults of all ages and backgrounds. I have experience with concerns including trauma, childhood abuse and neglect, addiction and recovery, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, self-injury, suicidality, impulsive or compulsive behaviors, eating and food-related concerns, and work-related stress or dissatisfaction. I also have a special place in my practice for people who spend their professional lives serving others. I am particularly passionate about working with veterans, first responders, law enforcement, firefighters, and medical professionals. I have been described as “unflappable” when listening to difficult trauma experiences. You don't need to protect me from your story. You can bring the hard stuff into the room, and we can work through it together. I also work with couples and families, drawing on my background as both a psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist. You don't need to have the perfect words—or know exactly what you need from therapy. You just need to be willing to start the conversation. We'll figure out the rest together.
Interpersonal Therapy focuses on the connection between our emotional well-being and the relationships and circumstances in our lives. I use this approach to help clients better understand how their relationships, communication patterns, life transitions, and experiences of loss or conflict may be affecting how they feel and function. Together, we will explore the relationships that matter most to you and identify patterns that may be contributing to distress or keeping you stuck. We may look at how you communicate your needs, how you respond to conflict, the roles you tend to take in relationships, and how past and current experiences influence the way you connect with others. The goal isn't simply to understand these patterns—it is to help you develop healthier ways of communicating, navigating relationships, managing difficult emotions, and responding to changes in your life. I will work collaboratively with you to identify practical changes that can improve both your relationships and your overall sense of well-being. Because I believe the therapeutic relationship itself is important, our work together also provides an opportunity to experience a relationship that is honest, supportive, respectful, and nonjudgmental. My hope is that the insight and skills you develop in therapy will extend beyond our sessions and into the relationships and situations that matter most to you.
Narrative Therapy recognizes that the stories we tell about ourselves and our lives can strongly influence how we see ourselves, our relationships, and what we believe is possible for our future. I use this approach to help clients explore the experiences that have shaped their stories and identify beliefs or patterns that may be keeping them stuck. Together, we will look at the stories you have developed about yourself—perhaps “I’m not good enough,” “I always mess things up,” “I have to take care of everyone,” or “This is just the way I am.” We will explore where these beliefs came from, how they have influenced your choices and relationships, and whether they still fit the person you are today. An important part of Narrative Therapy is recognizing that you are not the problem; the problem is the problem. Difficult experiences, relationships, trauma, or patterns of behavior may have influenced your life, but they do not have to define your identity or determine your future. I will help you identify moments of strength, resilience, courage, and success that may have been overlooked or minimized. Together, we can begin developing a fuller and more balanced story—one that acknowledges what you've been through while also making room for your strengths, values, hopes, and possibilities. My goal is not to rewrite your history, but to help you see yourself and your story from a different perspective. Sometimes meaningful change begins when we realize that the story we've been telling ourselves is not the only story available to us.
Trauma-informed therapy recognizes that difficult or traumatic experiences can affect the way we see ourselves, relate to others, experience emotions, and respond to the world around us. I use a trauma-informed approach to create a therapeutic environment that feels safe, respectful, collaborative, and free from judgment. My approach begins with meeting you where you are. You are always in control of what you share and when you are ready to share it. I will never believe that you have to tell your entire story before we can begin making progress. Together, we will focus on building trust, developing effective coping strategies, and helping you feel more grounded and empowered. We may explore how past experiences continue to influence current thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships. When appropriate, we can also work toward processing difficult experiences and developing a different relationship with what has happened to you. I will move at a pace that feels manageable and will work collaboratively with you throughout the process. I have particular experience working with individuals who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect, as well as veterans, first responders, law enforcement, firefighters, and medical professionals who have been exposed to traumatic or highly stressful experiences. I am comfortable hearing difficult stories, and you do not need to protect me from what you've experienced. Being trauma-informed also means recognizing your strengths. Trauma may be part of your story, but it does not have to define who you are. My goal is to help you develop greater understanding, safety, resilience, and a sense of control over your life and your future.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy helps clients become more aware of what is happening in the present moment—thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and reactions—without immediately judging or reacting to them. I use mindfulness techniques to help clients slow down, create space between what they experience and how they respond, and develop greater awareness of their needs and patterns. Together, we may practice simple mindfulness strategies such as grounding, focused breathing, noticing physical sensations, or observing thoughts and emotions with curiosity rather than criticism. These skills can be particularly helpful when anxiety, stress, anger, difficult emotions, or racing thoughts make it challenging to feel in control. Mindfulness is not about emptying your mind or making difficult thoughts and feelings disappear. Instead, it is about learning to notice what is happening without automatically getting pulled into it. This can create an opportunity to pause and choose how you want to respond rather than simply reacting out of habit. I may also use mindfulness to help you become more aware of patterns in your relationships, recognize emotional triggers, and better understand what is happening internally during challenging situations. With practice, these skills can become tools you can use outside of therapy—in relationships, at work, during stressful moments, or simply when you need to reconnect with yourself. My goal is to help you develop greater awareness, emotional flexibility, and a sense of choice in how you respond to life's challenges. Sometimes, creating just a little space between a feeling and a reaction can make a meaningful difference.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is based on the understanding that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are closely connected. I use CBT to help clients recognize patterns in the way they think and respond to situations and understand how those patterns may be contributing to distress or keeping them stuck. Together, we will explore the thoughts and beliefs that tend to show up during difficult situations. Sometimes we develop automatic ways of thinking—such as expecting the worst, being overly critical of ourselves, or assuming we know what others are thinking—that can increase anxiety, sadness, or frustration. We will work together to examine these patterns with curiosity and consider whether there may be more balanced or helpful ways of looking at things. CBT is also action-oriented. Depending on your goals, we may identify behaviors that are maintaining a problem and experiment with new ways of responding. This might include developing healthier coping strategies, practicing communication skills, gradually approaching situations you have been avoiding, or making behavioral changes that support your emotional well-being. I don't view CBT as simply “thinking positively.” Difficult thoughts and emotions are a normal part of being human, and our goal isn't to ignore them or pretend everything is fine. Instead, I will help you develop a more flexible and realistic way of responding to challenges. My goal is to give you practical tools that you can use both inside and outside of therapy. As you become more aware of the connections between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, you can begin to feel less controlled by automatic patterns and more confident in your ability to choose how you respond.