Celia Quinlivan is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in Orange County. She earned her bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Advertising through the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts school at Chapman University, and later earned a Master of Science in Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at the California State University of Long Beach. Prior to building a career in mental health, she worked in public relations and marketing, where she worked with high profile companies and freelanced for smaller businesses in Orange County and Los Angeles. Celia began working in the mental health field as a college student success coach, supporting hundreds of students transitioning to college. She provided emotional support and customized organizational plans for academics, while helping reduce stress and anxiety. While in this role she developed an interest in mental health and pursued a career as a marriage and family therapist. While in her graduate program, Celia focused her training on trauma related work, where she supported victims of crime and human trafficking in the Long Beach area with various mental health needs. Celia transitioned to working in eating disorder recovery and then moved into the role of a mental health clinician for the County of Orange where she worked with children, adolescents and transitional aged youth in foster care and those who have experienced adoption. There she provided individual and family therapy, co-facilitated an attachment based, trauma informed parenting class focused on adoption issues, and supported with administrative duties as a lead clinician. Currently she works with teens, families, and young adults in an intensive outpatient program at a local hospital providing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and appears on panels for school presentations focused on various areas of mental health related issues for children and teens in Orange County.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

Seeking out support for therapy can be confusing, anxiety provoking and overwhelming. Let me help you in the process whether it’s your first time or you are getting back into it. When we first meet my intention is to learn your story and explore what areas of your life you are wanting to improve. As we determine that I am the right therapist for you, we can work on developing agreed-upon goals for treatment to ensure we are focused on areas that are important to you and that will bring you the most benefit. In the event I cannot provide you with the services you are seeking or wish to look into other options, I am more than happy to assist in finding you the right support. As a therapist my goal is to work collaboratively with each client as a team and help guide clients through their own process.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

Celia specializes in working with children, adolescents and adults. She takes the stance that everyone is doing the best they can and works to tailor her therapeutic approach to meet the needs of the client and families by using various evidenced based practices and creating a safe, open and secure environment. She is passionate about mental health and supporting those who are focused on improving their overall quality of life and functioning. She has trained in evidence based practices including EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) along with other modalities to treat various mental health symptoms.

Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.

Over the years I have worked with clients from various ages and backgrounds, and have found that I work well with those who are looking to work on processing through their trauma, increase coping skills, improve inner personal relationships and move toward achieving personal goals both long and short term.

About Celia Quinlivan