Trauma Therapy in San Diego (Telehealth)
For the high-functioning San Diego adult whose résumé is impressive, whose life is well-run, and whose inner critic has been the loudest voice in the room for as long as they can remember.
A lot of my San Diego clients arrive successful and privately exhausted. You have the career, the mortgage, the group chat, the dog, the credentials. You are the one your friends call when they are in trouble. And underneath the competence there is a running commentary that would not survive being spoken out loud — a voice that tells you you're behind, you're too much, you're not enough, you're one wrong move from being found out.
That voice is rarely random. Usually it's a very old strategy: the version of you that learned early on to stay ahead of criticism, disappointment, or unpredictability by monitoring everyone else's mood before your own. It worked. It's still working. It's also the thing draining the life out of you.
What this looks like
- Sunday-night dread that has nothing specific attached to it.
- Being the emotional shock-absorber in every relationship you're in.
- A body that only knows "on" or "collapsed."
- Perfectionism that reads as ambition and functions as self-punishment.
- Deep relief every time you cancel something, followed by shame about the relief.
How I work
I'm Katelin Hanhart, LCSW, licensed in California (#92638) and New Jersey (#44SC05665400). Trauma work with high-functioning adults usually needs to be paced carefully — your system has been holding a lot for a long time, and my job is not to blow the top off in month one. We stabilize, we build capacity, and then we work relationally with the pattern itself.
Depending on what you bring, we use parts work, somatic awareness, compassion-focused therapy, CBT and DBT skills, and EMDR when a memory or a body reaction still runs the show. I am trained in EMDR and use it as one tool inside an integrative approach — not as a script.
I do not have a San Diego office. San Diego clients meet with me by secure video from anywhere in California. For a lot of professionals, the "no cross-county drive" part is what makes weekly therapy actually sustainable instead of aspirational.
Common questions
- Do you see clients in person in San Diego?
- No. I don't have a San Diego office and I don't drive down. San Diego clients meet with me by secure video anywhere in California. For a lot of professionals the alternative — 405/5 traffic to a stranger's office — is exactly what keeps them from getting started in the first place.
- Is video therapy as good as in person?
- For most of the work I do, yes — and often more sustainable, because it actually fits your week. The therapeutic relationship, the method, and your willingness to show up are what move the needle. Room type is not the variable.
- How do we start?
- You book a free 15-minute consult. We talk briefly about what you're bringing and whether I'm the right fit. If yes, we schedule an intake and go from there. No sales pitch, no pressure — if I'm not the right person, I'll say so and point you somewhere useful.