Licensed to practice in California and accepts 25 insurances. Specializes in Anxiety, Mood Disorders, Trauma and PTSD and 6 more.

Julie Kim

(she/her)

LCSW, 24 years of experience

Clients say this provider is

Warm
Empowering
Authentic
VirtualAvailable

About me

I am a licensed therapist in California, holding a master’s degree from Columbia University, with over twenty years of experience. I lived in the Bay Area for nearly 20 years and now proudly call San Diego County home. I strive to create a warm space where curiosity and compassion guide us in exploring and understanding our lives. I deeply value self-agency and believe in the power of personal journeys that invite choice and meaningful reflection. It is truly a privilege to support my clients, and I hold our work together with genuine care and respect.

Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

The first session will open with a conversation about yourself and what, at the moment, you hope therapy will address. I am open to questions about the process. I love deep listening and asking reflective questions for you to have as much space as you would like to share your experience. This helps me have a clearer picture of your expectations and I hope gives you a sense of my strengths in the work.

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

I continue to develop a keen ability to authentically hold a positive regard and remain grounded through complex, unsettling times. I have genuine reverence for our human experience and can manage difficult discussions with humility, levity, and empathy.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

My ideal client is someone who has navigated significant challenges and discovered within themselves the strength to keep moving forward—to build a life, grow, and care for themselves and others. From the outside, they may appear strong, capable, and even successful. Yet beneath that strength, they may still feel caught in old patterns that make it difficult to fully enjoy the life they have worked so hard to create. They are thoughtful and curious, with a quiet sense that something more is possible—more ease, meaning, connection, and freedom. They are open to understanding themselves more deeply, even when turning inward feels new or unfamiliar. Many of the people I work with come from cultures, families, or environments where introspection was not always encouraged or accessible. In our work, there is room to explore without rejecting where you come from. The patterns you developed made sense within the context of your life. Together, we can approach them with compassion and deep respect—understanding how they helped you survive while creating new ways of being that feel more authentic and freeing. I especially value working with people who are ready, at their own pace, to move beyond simply getting through life and begin experiencing it with greater presence, possibility, and joy.

Specialties

Top specialties

Other specialties

Identifies as

Asian / Asian American

Serves ages

Licensed in

Location

Virtual

My treatment methods

Psychodynamic

My practice is grounded in gently exploring both past and present experiences to uncover deeper meaning in our challenges and strengths. Through this process, we learn to hold our stories with greater compassion, allowing for more peace, balance, and clarity in our lives.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

I bring training and experience in cultivating the attitudes and foundations of mindfulness to support the development of lasting skills that help us hold both pain and joy with greater ease. Together, we will explore practices that foster new perspectives, inviting healing and deep self-compassion—so that we can more fully appreciate even the simplest moments in our beautifully complex lives.

Person-centered (Rogerian)

I deeply value each person’s lived experience and hold a core belief that we all carry the capacity for healing within us. I see therapy as a collaborative and compassionate space where empathy and authenticity can support meaningful growth. With the right conditions—community, trust, and support—we naturally move toward health, resilience, and self-acceptance. Rather than focusing solely on analyzing difficulties, I strive to honor each individual’s unique context and cultivate a greater sense of self-worth, agency, and wholeness.

Eclectic

Over the years, I’ve trained in a range of therapeutic modalities that have meaningfully shaped my work, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Play Therapy, Hypnotherapy and Motivational Interviewing. While these approaches offer valuable, sometimes directive tools, I integrate them in a way that invites reflection rather than prescription. My goal is to offer ideas and perspectives that individuals can explore at their own pace—taking what resonates and adapting practices in ways that feel authentic and helpful to their unique journey.

, 46 ratings

4 ratings with written reviews

October 26, 2025

I feel understood and that I am able to step out of my thoughts and anxiety and look at it from a difference perspective. Julie meets you where you are, without judgment, and empowers you to be well.

Verified client, age 35-44
Review shared after session 18 with Julie

September 1, 2025

Julie is one of a kind. She sincerely listens to everything you are experiencing and feels the same depth of pain you do. She makes you feel like you aren't alone. Her recommendations are thoughtful, grounded and well-proportioned for where you are in your mental state.

Verified client, age 35-44
Review shared after session 5 with Julie

May 10, 2025

I didn't choose two of the above because I truly couldn't choose just two - she is "all of the above" - she's exceptional.

Verified client, age 55-64
Review shared after session 49 with Julie