Samantha Scheussler
Hi, I'm Samantha! I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in California. I work with college students, young adults, and adults who are ready to better understand themselves (even if you aren't quite sure where to start). You might be navigating anxiety, depression, grief, relationship struggles, a major life transition, or just a persistent feeling that something needs to shift. You don’t need to have it all figured out or be in crisis to deserve support; you just need a willingness to show up. Outside of the therapy room, I love traveling and expanding my perspective on the world. I bring that same curiosity, warmth, and down-to-earth energy into my practice, focusing deeply on building a genuine connection so you feel truly supported from day one.
You don’t need to have everything figured out or be in crisis to deserve support. I offer down-to-earth, collaborative individual therapy for adults navigating anxiety, depression, and the messy transitions of adulthood.
First session
I like to joke that during our intake session, I’m going to ask you a million questions! Because getting the full picture matters, we’ll spend time exploring your background (including family dynamics, developmental history, and any past therapy experiences) alongside what’s bringing you in right now and where you’re hoping to go. Depending on how much ground we cover, we may start mapping out your treatment goals right away or dive into those in session two. Regardless of whether you’re brand new to therapy or had a less-than-great past experience, I make a point to explain how I work and set the tone early. This is your space, supportive, collaborative, and completely judgment-free, and I openly invite your feedback if something ever feels off so we can adjust together. My goal is for you to leave session one feeling comfortable, safe, and clear on how we’ll move forward as a team.
Strengths
My biggest strength lies in blending genuine warmth and lived empathy with honest, practical guidance. Because I’ve sat in the client's chair myself, I prioritize building a strong, trusting rapport above all else. I want you to feel completely safe showing up exactly as you are, without needing the "perfect" words. At the same time, creating a safe space doesn't mean I won't be direct or gently challenge you when it serves your growth. I draw from evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, ACT, and Motivational Interviewing, tailoring what we do to what actually works in your real life, not just in theory. Together, we’ll pair deep self-insight with real-world coping tools (and a healthy dose of humor) to help you untangle what’s getting in the way and build a life that feels authentically yours.
Ideal clients
I love working with adults who find themselves stuck in cycles of overthinking, struggling to set boundaries, or figuring out how to communicate their needs without drowning in guilt. Many of my clients are navigating the unique, sometimes overwhelming transitions of adulthood: stepping into their own individual lives, untangling family dynamics, and figuring out what truly matters to them and how they want to spend their time and energy. You don’t need to have all the answers right away, just an openness to exploring new perspectives and trying practical tools between sessions. Together, we’ll collaboratively agree on realistic, bite-sized "homework" tailored to what you actually have the capacity to commit to, whether that’s practicing a boundary, using a mood tracker, or simply making time for a long, hot shower as intentional self-care.
Origin story
My journey toward becoming a therapist began during my own adolescence when I entered therapy for the first time. Having experienced firsthand how transformative it is to have a safe, non-judgmental space during moments of isolation and personal struggle, I learned just how powerful the therapeutic relationship can be. Navigating my own experiences with anxiety and depression further deepened my empathy and shaped my clinical philosophy. I do this work because I deeply believe in the healing power of human connection, and I feel honored to hold a safe, compassionate space for both the joys and the pains of being human.
Ongoing work together
A typical return session starts with checking in on how your week has been and how any agreed-upon homework went. If you didn’t get to it, there is zero judgment; we’ll simply be curious together about what got in the way so we can adjust. From there, I hand the steering wheel largely over to you so we spend our time focusing on whatever feels most pressing and important in your life that week. As sessions build on one another, we regularly revisit your goals and reflect on the growth both you and I are noticing, like catching unhelpful thought spirals faster, feeling more grounded and present, or having greater control over your emotions and choices. Before we wrap up each meeting, we’ll decide together what small, meaningful focus or tool you want to carry into your week ahead.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
ACT is all about helping you stop fighting your own mind and start living a life that actually matters to you. When we go through hard things, our natural instinct is often to push away painful thoughts or try to outrun difficult emotions, which usually just leaves us feeling more stuck. In our sessions, I use ACT to help you practice a different way of relating to your internal world. Instead of viewing anxiety or self-doubt as enemies to defeat, we work on noticing them without letting them drive the car. We will also spend time clarifying what you truly value in life, whether that is your relationships, your career, or how you treat yourself, and take small, meaningful steps toward those values, even when fear or discomfort tags along for the ride.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is a practical, collaborative approach based on a simple idea: how we think, how we feel, and how we act are all closely connected. When we are stressed, tired, or overwhelmed, our brains can easily get trapped in unhelpful mental loops, like automatic negative thoughts or worst-case-scenario thinking that feels entirely true in the moment. In our work together, we use CBT like a gentle spotlight. We will look at the stories your mind is telling you and examine whether they are serving you or holding you back. This isn't about slapping a fake positive spin on a hard situation. Instead, it is about building awareness so you can catch unhelpful patterns, test out new perspectives, and learn concrete, real-world coping tools to handle stress and emotions with much greater confidence.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT was originally designed to help people who feel emotions intensely and find themselves overwhelmed by the ups and downs of life. Even if that isn't your main struggle, DBT offers some of the most practical, life-changing toolkits for everyday coping that I have ever come across. When I use DBT in my practice, we focus heavily on four core skill areas: mindfulness (learning to stay anchored in the present moment), distress tolerance (surviving intense emotional waves without making things harder on yourself), emotion regulation (understanding and softening painful feelings), and interpersonal effectiveness (how to ask for what you need and set clear boundaries without drowning in guilt). It is less about endless talking and more about building a concrete toolbox you can pull out whenever life throws a curveball.
Motivational Interviewing
Change is hard. Even when you desperately want something in your life to be different, part of you might also feel terrified, hesitant, or completely exhausted by the idea of putting in the effort. That push-and-pull is completely normal, and we will never judge it. Motivational Interviewing is the antidote to feeling shamed into changing. Instead of telling you what you should do, I use MI to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with you as we explore your own mixed feelings. We look at what is working, what isn't, and what you genuinely want for yourself. My job isn't to push you down a path; it is to help you uncover your own inner clarity and confidence so that when you take a step forward, it feels entirely authentic and driven by you.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
At the core of everything I do is a person-centered, humanistic approach. Long before we talk about coping skills or mental health frameworks, we are simply two humans sitting in a room together. I firmly believe that you are the ultimate expert on your own life and that healing happens best when you feel completely safe, valued, and accepted. In our sessions, you won't encounter judgment, clinical coldness, or unrealistic expectations. My role is to hold a warm, steady, and compassionate space where you can drop the armor you might wear out in the world. By offering genuine empathy and deep understanding, I want to help you quiet your inner critic, reconnect with your own intuition, and trust yourself again.
Location
Virtual sessions