Therapy
Depth-Oriented. Relational. Real.
Maybe you have been holding it together for a long time and the seams are starting to show. Maybe you finished treatment and you are not sure what comes next. Maybe you are exhausted from fighting, or from hiding, or both.
You do not have to have it figured out to start.
What is Depth?
Something brought you here. Maybe it’s anxiety, or drinking, or a relationship that keeps breaking the same way. Maybe you don’t even have a name for it yet — just a feeling that something is off, or that you keep arriving at the same place no matter what you do.
Depth psychology doesn’t ask how we fix that. It asks what it’s pointing at.
This is not passive work. We dig. We get our hands dirty. We follow what’s uncomfortable because that is usually where the real material is.
My training at Pacifica Graduate Institute, one of the few programs in the country grounded entirely in depth psychology, shapes how I listen and what I look for. You bring what is present — problems, patterns, dreams, the things you don’t quite have words for yet. That is where we start.
It is messy. And it is transformative.
Who I Work With
I work with people at thresholds.
The person who just got out of the hospital and doesn’t know what comes next. The person three months sober wondering if this is all there is. The person whose marriage just ended, or whose career just collapsed, or who looked up one day and didn’t recognize their own life.
People carrying depression that won’t lift, anxiety that won’t quiet, grief that doesn’t follow the timeline everyone else seems to expect. People coming out of a bipolar episode trying to make sense of what happened. Veterans who made it home and can’t figure out what that means.
People in the second half of life navigating what comes next — retirement, loss, a body that is changing, the question of what it all meant and what still might be possible.
People who are exhausted from hiding. People who are guarded and showing up anyway.
I especially welcome queer, creative, complicated, and nonconforming people. My work is LGBTQ+-affirming, sex-positive, and kink- and nonmonogamy-allied.
“…there is something that happens between two human beings that no tool can replicate.”
Working With Me
People often surprise themselves in this work. They come in thinking they know what they need to talk about and end up somewhere they didn’t expect. That is usually where the real work is.
I am warm, direct, and curious. We can stay with difficult things without losing our capacity for humor.
Therapy can look a lot of different ways and still serve. I offer telehealth throughout California for individuals, couples, and families — by phone or video, whatever works for you. If you are in the greater Long Beach area, we may also be able to meet outdoors and walk while we talk.
As a therapist trainee, I am able to offer quality depth-oriented therapy at a lower fee than many licensed therapists. My work is supervised by Elysha Martinez, LMFT 93493, so I bring another experienced clinical mind into the work when it is useful. Please reach out to discuss rates.
I do not currently bill insurance.
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to hear what brings you here, answer practical questions, and see if we are a good fit.
Why a Real Person Matters
AI tools can help you find words for things. They are available at 3am and they do not judge you. There is real value there.
But there is something that happens between two human beings that no tool can replicate. Being received. Having your experience land somewhere. That is what therapy offers. Not information. Contact. Witness. Repair.
Healing is possible in many forms. Transformation requires friction.
That is the part that heals.
Therapy through Axis Mundi
I am proud to be part of Axis Mundi Center for Mental Health — a community of colleagues whose work values depth, curiosity, and connection. All therapy services are provided through Axis Mundi under the supervision of Elysha Martinez, LMFT 93493.
Kimberly Esslinger, Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee (213) 245-1574