How do I know if I need a depression therapist in San Diego or if I can just push through this on my own?

If you are asking that question, that is usually a sign that something needs attention. Many people wait a long time before reaching out, often because they feel like they do not have a good enough reason to seek support. But feeling stuck, exhausted, tearful, or disconnected from yourself and the people you love is a real and valid reason to ask for help. Therapy is not reserved for crisis. It is available whenever you are ready to stop carrying something alone.

I don't feel sad exactly. Can I still have depression?

Yes. Depression does not always look like sadness. For many people it shows up as feeling flat, disconnected, or unlike themselves. It can look like irritability, low motivation, difficulty concentrating, crying without knowing why, or simply going through the motions without really being present. If any of that sounds familiar, it is worth talking to someone.

Do you work with people who don't have a trauma history, or just people who have been through something serious?

The pain you are carrying does not need to meet a particular threshold to deserve care. Some clients have complex trauma histories. Others are dealing with depression, relationship stress, or a persistent sense of being stuck that does not have a clear origin story. All of it is welcome. What matters is that you are ready to show up and do the work, not that your reason is serious enough.

What kind of therapy do you use to treat depression?

We use integrative approaches combined with evidence-based modalities such as CBT and DBT. This means we draw from more than one therapeutic method and tailor the work to you as an individual. Some unique modalities our team is certified in include biofeedback, EMDR, Mindfulness, and Meditation.

Can depression be connected to trauma or body image issues?

Yes. Our team works with acknowledging the role an unhappy sense of self or body can play in negatively impacting overall mood. Depression frequently overlaps with unprocessed trauma, low self-esteem, and difficult relationships with the body. We specialize in helping adults navigate exactly these kinds of layered experiences, and therapy can address them together rather than in isolation.

What can I expect in my first session?

Our first session is mostly about getting to know each other. We allow clients to take the lead in sharing about themselves and what they're hoping to get out of therapy. We are also ready to offer guided questions to help get the conversation flowing if that would be most helpful. There's no pressure to share everything at once. Our goal is for you to leave that first appointment feeling heard and with a clearer sense of what working together could look like.

Do you offer in-person or online therapy for depression in San Diego?

We see clients both in person and online. If you are in the San Diego area, we can meet in the office, or we can work together virtually if that fits your schedule or comfort level better. Either way, the quality of care is the same.

How much does depression therapy cost, and do you take insurance?

Depression therapy at our practice ranges from $140 to $175 depending on whether you are working with an associate or licensed provider. We accept Cigna/Evernorth and can provide a superbill for other insurance policies we are not in network with, which may provide reimbursement for services.

How are you trained to work with depression as an LMFT?

During my Masters program for Marriage and Family Therapy, I received clinical training in mood disorders. Following this education, I worked at treatment centers offering the highest level of care for mood disorders such as depression, trauma, and eating disorders. Over 8 years in these settings, I supported clients with severe, persistent, and chronic depression. I have also been a Clinical Supervisor to new therapists for 7 years, which allows me to directly support and offer guidance and additional training to all the associates at my practice.

What kind of therapist is best for depression in San Diego?

One approach that is most effective in working with depression is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). With this approach, the goal is to increase awareness of thoughts and their impact on emotions and behaviors. We then support the individual in intervening on their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors to improve overall mood.

Depression Therapist San Diego

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Finding Depression Therapist San Diego

Close-up of dry golden grass in a field beneath a clear blue sky, evoking the emotional weight that brings many people to seek a depression therapist in San Diego

The Tearfulness Just Won’t Go Away

You don't feel like yourself, but you can't quite put your finger on what is wrong. Everything feels so magnified right now, like the volume of your life has been turned up too loud and no one else seems to notice. There is no obvious reason, and somehow that makes it worse.

You Wish Everyone Would Just Leave You Alone

Daily interactions trigger something in you that comes out as irritable, annoyed, and short-tempered. You're constantly fighting with those closest to you. You're embarrassed by how often you cry because it makes you feel weak. There is nothing seriously wrong in your life, so you shouldn't feel this way.

So You Stay Quiet and Isolate Yourself

You don't talk about how you feel because you are afraid of what others will think about you. They might think you are weak. You tell yourself so many people have it so much worse and are keeping it together far better than you are. Who are you to fall apart when your life looks fine from the outside?

You've stopped doing the things that you used to love and made you happy. You can't even tell anymore if you just don't like them or if you are simply too exhausted to care. The thought of starting to tackle basic daily tasks, a work out routine, or work responsibilities feels like more than you can handle. You settle for calling yourself lazy and stay right where you are: stuck, unhappy, tearful, and feeling alone.

Somewhere underneath this heaviness, there is a part of you that remembers what it felt like to be okay and be yourself again.

Our team works with young adults who are overwhelmed, tearful, disconnected, and struggling to explain why. Flourishing professionals who are holding it together on the outside while quietly navigating complicated emotional histories on the inside.

A warm, professional photo of Sage LeBlanc APCC smiling in front of a white wall. She has blonde hair pulled up and a white shirt. The mood is calm, approachable, and trustworthy. — Sage LeBlanc

APCC #13857

Depression often shows up as exhaustion, disconnection, and being in autopilot all the time, symptoms that often live in the nervous system, not just the mind. Our integrative approach is unique as it allows us to work with you as whole person, not just the words you can find to describe your experience. We help adults who feel stuck and overwhelmed, who are carrying emotions or memories that feel too heavy to keep holding, learn to release what no longer needs to be carried. Not by forcing yourself to revisit painful stories before you are ready, but by gently creating the conditions for your nervous system and your inner world to feel safe enough to be open.

Our clients often describe their thoughts as disorganized or scattered when they first come to see us. One of the things we do is reflect those thoughts back in a way that allows them to hear their own inner voice more clearly. For many people, this shift in clarity is the first time they have been able to understand what they actually need, not what they think or, “should,” need, but what is genuinely true for them. This new found connection to oneself allows for a safer and deeper integration of Somatic EMDR to further process memories or Biofeedback interventions to regulate the nervous system in real time.

Many clients find that after consistent weekly work together, they begin to feel less reactive, more grounded, and more like themselves. The irritability softens. The crying begins to make sense rather than feeling like a source of shame. The exhaustion starts to lift in ways that feel sustainable, because the work is happening at a level that words alone never quite reached.

Working with a Depression Therapist in San Diego

If you have been searching for a depression therapist in San Diego, you are in the right place. We work with the understanding that healing doesn’t always begin with words. Rather than requiring you to verbally explain everything in order to move forward, we begin where you are and build from there.

This might include somatic or body-based techniques that help your nervous system find a felt sense of safety, approaches that access parts of your emotional experience that have not yet had a safe space to be seen, gentle and consistent support that helps your thoughts feel less scattered over time, and space to move at your own pace without pressure to tackle the hardest material before you feel ready.

The goal is to help you put down what is too heavy to keep carrying, and to reconnect with the version of yourself that is still underneath all of it.

Let’s talk about depression therapy in San Diego and what you’re hoping to feel differently about in your life.

Schedule a free consultation

Frequently Asked Questions about Depression Therapist San Diego

If you are asking that question, that is usually a sign that something needs attention. Many people wait a long time before reaching out, often because they feel like they do not have a good enough reason to seek support. But feeling stuck, exhausted, tearful, or disconnected from yourself and the people you love is a real and valid reason to ask for help. Therapy is not reserved for crisis. It is available whenever you are ready to stop carrying something alone.
Yes. Depression does not always look like sadness. For many people it shows up as feeling flat, disconnected, or unlike themselves. It can look like irritability, low motivation, difficulty concentrating, crying without knowing why, or simply going through the motions without really being present. If any of that sounds familiar, it is worth talking to someone.
The pain you are carrying does not need to meet a particular threshold to deserve care. Some of my clients have complex trauma histories. Others are dealing with depression, relationship stress, or a persistent sense of being stuck that does not have a clear origin story. All of it is welcome. What matters is that you are ready to show up and do the work, not that your reason is serious enough.
e use integrative approaches combined with the evidence based modalities such as CBT and DBT. This means we draw from more than one therapeutic method and tailor the work to you as an individual. Some unique modalities our team is certified in include biofeedback, EMDR, Mindfulness, and Meditation. If you are interested in learning more about these complementary approaches, here is an article from American Psychological Association https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/pro-43-6-576.pdf
Yes, our team works with acknowledging the role an unhappy sense of self or body can play in negatively impacting overall mood. Depression frequently overlaps with unprocessed trauma, low self-esteem, and difficult relationships with the body. We specialize in helping adults navigate exactly these kinds of layered experiences, and therapy can address them together rather than in isolation.
Our first session is mostly about getting to know each other. We like to allow our clients to take the lead in sharing about themselves and what they’re hoping to get out of therapy, however, we are ready to offer guided questions to assist in getting the conversation flowing if that would be most helpful. There's no pressure to share everything at once. Our goal is for you to leave that first appointment feeling heard and with a clearer sense of what working together could look like.
We see clients both in person and online. If you are in the San Diego area, we can meet in the office, or we can work together virtually if that fits your schedule or comfort level better. Either way, the quality of care is the same.
Depression therapy at our practice can range from $140 to $175 depending on whether you are working with an associate or licensed provider. We would like our services to be as accessible as possible without compromising the integrity of our providers qualifications. We do accept Cigna/Evernorth and can provide a superbill for other insurance policies we are not in network with but who may provide a reimbursement for services.
During my Masters program for Marriage and Family Therapy, I received clinical training in mood disorders. Following this education, I worked at treatment centers offering the highest level of care for mood disorders such as depression as well as trauma and eating disorders. During my 8 years of working in these settings, I supported clients with severe, persistent, and chronic depression. I have additionally been a Clinical Supervisor to new therapists for 7 years. This training allows me to directly support and offer guidance and additional training to all the associates at my practice.
One approach to therapy that is most effective in working with depression is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. With this approach, the goal is to increase awareness of thoughts and their impact on emotions and behaviors. We can then support the individual in intervening on either their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors and increase overall mood.