Yvonne Venger (she/her)

My primary focus is working with the too often over-looked Familial Caregivers of someone with a chronic illness. I have both professionsal and personal experience working with caregivers. I served as the Clinical Director of Supervision at the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, and I witnessed first hand the incredible stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion of the family caregivers who cared for my grandfather who had Parkinson's and my eldest sister who had aggressive ALS.

Depression can be pernicious and unrelenting. Having been trained in treating depression in its many forms and seasons, I know the grip that depression has on people. Sometimes it creeps up slowly, quietly, until it hangs over a person like a cloud, causing everything to look gloomy. Other times it is like a black shroud, enveloping someone until they can't do anything but hide under the covers, hoping that they won't wake up to face the next day. But there is hope with support.

The most common issue that I see is anxiety. And it is becoming more common. The world we live in today is stressful, scary and often quite sad. People are worried and fearful, often overwhelmed and burnt out. When I work with people who suffer from anxiety, I utilize cognitive therapy to help them become aware of cognitive distortions, counter their negative thoughts without judgement, process their emotions, improve their functioning, and embrace the unknown with optimism.

Far too many people suffer from depression. From extensive training and experience working with people who suffer from depression, I know its many shapes and forms. Sometimes depression is quiet, unassuming, slowly descending and hangs over someone like a cloud, making everything seem gloomy. Other times depression is gripping, taking over like a shroud and felling someone in their tracks. By utilizing psychodynamic tools, I help my clients process their pain.

Our thoughts - or cognitions - play a tremendous role in how we feel and subsequently behave. When we become more aware of our thoughts, and when we can analyze them without judgement, we can challenge the negative distortions and the shoulds/woulds that stymie us. Often from a very young age, many people are told harmful things about themselves that might not be true but which they accept as gospel anyway. The tools that I share help my clients free themselves.

Through over two decades of practicing psychotherapy, I have found that the pain we carry with us from childhood profoundly impacts the rest of our lives unless we take stock and actively process the past so that it doesn't continue to weigh us down. Everyone has "baggage." I help my clients access their inner strength (coming to therapy is a huge strength) to face their pain, work through it, and free themselves to live a life of self-kindness.

As a social worker, I meet the client where they are, and I follow their lead. I set the frame with clear boundaries leaving a lot of space for the client to feel safe and secure to share knowing that they will be accepted and not judged. My approach is interactive, open, authentic and unconditionally supportive. I see the interaction as a collaborative partnership to help my clients achieve a greater sense of wellbeing in their lives.

Our thoughts - or cognitions - play a tremendous role in how we feel and subsequently behave. When we become more aware of our thoughts, and when we can analyze them without judgement, we can challenge the negative distortions and the shoulds/woulds that stymie us. Often from a very young age, many people are told harmful things about themselves that might not be true but which they accept as gospel anyway. The tools that I share help my clients free themselves.

As a social worker, I meet the client where they are, and I follow their lead. I set the frame with clear boundaries leaving a lot of space for the client to feel safe and secure to share knowing that they will be accepted and not judged. My approach is interactive, open, authentic and unconditionally supportive. I see the interaction as a collaborative partnership to help my clients achieve a greater sense of wellbeing in their lives.