Yesim Keskin
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist with a PhD and almost 20 years of clinical experience working with adults navigating anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, life transitions, trauma, burnout, and addictive patterns. My approach is integrative, relational, and strengths-based, but what distinguishes my work is the combination of deep exploration with practical change. I help clients understand not only what they are feeling, but why certain patterns keep repeating across relationships, work, family, and major life decisions, and what can be done differently. I work especially well with adults who may already have insight into their struggles but still feel caught in overthinking, perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional disconnection, or difficult relationship patterns. Therapy with me is collaborative and active: we may explore family-of-origin dynamics, attachment, identity, trauma, and longstanding beliefs while also building concrete tools for emotional regulation, communication, boundaries, and decision-making. The goal is not simply to reduce symptoms, but to help you develop greater self-trust, flexibility, and the ability to live and relate in ways that feel more authentic and intentional.
I integrate evidence-based treatment strategies such as EMDR, CBT, and DBT to help you develop a stronger relationship with yourself.
First session
In our first session, you can expect a warm, supportive, and nonjudgmental space to talk openly about what brings you to therapy. We will explore your current concerns, important experiences, stressors, strengths, and what you hope to change or understand more clearly. You do not need to arrive with everything figured out or know exactly where to begin. Together, we will identify initial priorities and begin shaping a treatment approach that fits your needs, goals, and pace. My aim is for you to leave the session feeling heard, understood, and with a clearer sense of what our work together can focus on.
Strengths
I bring a combination of clinical depth, curiosity, and practical focus to my sessions. I help clients notice patterns across emotions, relationships, family dynamics, life transitions, anxiety, trauma, and behavior, and connect experiences that may have previously felt separate or confusing. My approach is thoughtful and collaborative, but also active and direct when needed. I do not rely on a single method; I integrate relational, trauma-informed, strengths-based, systemic, and evidence-based approaches to fit the person I see. My clients often state that they benefit from having a space where complexity is welcomed, difficult questions can be explored honestly, and insight translates into concrete changes in daily life.
Ideal clients
My ideal clients are insightful, motivated adults who want to understand themselves more deeply and create meaningful change in their personal and professional lives. They often come to therapy while navigating major life transitions, relationship difficulties, burnout, anxiety, depression, or concerns related to substance use and other addictive patterns. They are seeking greater self-awareness, emotional clarity, healthier boundaries, more effective communication, and deeper, more satisfying relationships. Ultimately, they want to live with greater authenticity, intention, and alignment with their values.
Origin story
I became a therapist because I have always been fascinated by the stories people carry, including the experiences, relationships, losses, hopes, and turning points that quietly shape how we see ourselves and the lives we build. I was drawn to the moments when life asks us to reconsider who we are: during relationship struggles, anxiety, loss, burnout, trauma, or major life transitions. What keeps me connected to this work is the deeply human process of helping someone make sense of a difficult chapter without reducing them to a diagnosis or a problem to be fixed. I value creating a space where people can be honest about what hurts, curious about what it means, and open to discovering possibilities they may not have seen before. I believe therapy is ultimately about being on a journey to feel more at home in ourselves and genuinely connected to the lives and relationships we want to create.
Ongoing work together
Our ongoing work will be collaborative, individualized, and focused on both meaningful insight and practical change. Depending on your needs, we may explore patterns in your thoughts, emotions, relationships, family experiences, and life circumstances while also developing concrete tools to manage anxiety, depression, stress, trauma responses, or addictive patterns. We will regularly revisit your goals, discuss what is changing, identify what still feels difficult, and adjust our approach as needed. Progress may look like feeling less overwhelmed, responding differently to triggers, setting healthier boundaries, communicating more effectively, making decisions with greater confidence, and experiencing more satisfying relationships. Over time, we will look not only at symptom relief, but also at greater emotional flexibility, self-trust, and your ability to live in ways that feel more authentic and aligned with your values.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help clients understand how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can contribute to anxiety, depression, stress, low self-esteem, and relationship difficulties. Together, we identify patterns that may be keeping you stuck and develop practical strategies for responding differently. CBT can be especially helpful for clients who struggle with overthinking, worry, negative self-talk, avoidance, perfectionism, or difficulty managing emotions. I also help clients examine how these patterns developed and when they may no longer be serving them. The goal is not simply to “think positively,” but to develop more realistic, flexible, and effective ways of responding to difficult situations.
Integrative
I use an integrative therapy approach that combines evidence-based, relational, trauma-informed, and systemic methods based on your individual needs, goals, personality, and life circumstances. Treatment may include support for anxiety, depression, relationship issues, stress, trauma, self-esteem, and major life transitions. Rather than using the same approach with every client, I tailor therapy to what is most useful and meaningful for you. Some sessions may focus on practical coping strategies, while others may explore deeper emotional patterns, relationships, identity, meaning, or past experiences. This flexible approach allows therapy to evolve as your needs and goals change over time.
Trauma-Informed Care
I provide trauma-informed therapy for clients whose past or present experiences continue to affect their emotions, relationships, sense of safety, or ability to cope with stress. Treatment emphasizes safety, trust, emotional regulation, and helping you understand how difficult experiences may influence your current life. When appropriate, I integrate EMDR and other evidence-based approaches to help process distressing experiences and reduce their ongoing impact. Trauma-informed therapy can be helpful for clients experiencing hypervigilance, emotional numbness, shame, relationship difficulties, intrusive memories, or a persistent sense of feeling overwhelmed. I work collaboratively and at a pace that respects your readiness, boundaries, and individual experience.
Relational
I use relational and family systems approaches to help clients explore recurring patterns in relationships, attachment, communication, trust, boundaries, family roles, and self-worth. This approach can be particularly helpful for relationship problems, family conflict, loneliness, people-pleasing, difficult parent-child dynamics, and patterns that repeat across relationships or generations. We may explore how early relationships, family expectations, cultural influences, and past experiences shape the way you relate to yourself and others today. Therapy can also help identify patterns such as fear of rejection, over-responsibility, emotional distance, conflict avoidance, or difficulty expressing needs. The goal is to develop healthier boundaries, more authentic relationships, and greater freedom to make choices that reflect who you are now.
Strength-Based
I use strengths-based therapy to help clients recognize and build on the abilities, values, resilience, and coping resources they already possess. This approach can be especially helpful for people navigating anxiety, low self-esteem, burnout, relationship challenges, career changes, identity concerns, or major life transitions. Alongside addressing difficulties, we identify what is already working and use those strengths to support meaningful and sustainable change. I help clients reconnect with qualities that may have become overshadowed by stress, self-doubt, or difficult experiences. Therapy focuses not only on reducing symptoms, but also on building confidence, agency, resilience, and a stronger sense of direction.
Location
Virtual sessions