Kim Jones, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California

While I was in graduate school, I taught in the Los Angeles Unified and Pasadena Unified School Districts and worked in youth recreational programming across private and nonprofit settings. Those years shaped how I think about emotional development, stress, and resilience, and they still show up in how I work today.

People rarely come to therapy because they’re not strong enough. More often, it’s the opposite — they’ve been strong for so long that they’re running on empty.

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My Therapeutic Approach

After 26 years of doing this work, one thing still stands out: however different people’s stories are, most of them want the same handful of things — to feel understood, to have healthier relationships, some real peace of mind, and to feel like themselves again. Helping people get there is still the most rewarding part of the job.

What I bring to a session is genuine curiosity about your specific experience, a focus on tools you can actually use outside the room, and an approach that keeps therapy active rather than something that happens to you. I’ll share what I’m noticing, offer direct feedback, and gently push back on a story you’ve been telling yourself when it’s useful — always following your lead.

I believe strongly in transparency: I’ll tell you why we’re doing what we’re doing, tie the work back to your actual life, and check in regularly on whether it’s helping. If something isn’t working, we change it. Sessions are a mix of exploring what’s underneath a pattern, building skills you can use immediately, and paying attention to what’s happening in your body as well as your thoughts — because anxiety, stress, and trauma don’t live only in the mind.

I draw on evidence-based approaches suited to what you need, including CBT, trauma-informed care, interpersonal therapy, solution-focused therapy, family systems, attachment-based therapy, strategic intervention, and human needs psychology. My ongoing continuing education includes anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional regulation, somatic treatments, women’s health, relationship challenges, and narcissistic abuse recovery — areas I keep deepening my training in.

You don’t have to arrive ready for change. Sometimes you just need a space to be heard first, and that’s exactly where we start. You can read more about what working together looks like in therapy if you’d like a fuller picture before reaching out.

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Specialized Training, Certifications & Professional Experience

My clinical and professional background includes:

• Gottman Method Level 1 Couples Therapy Training – a research-based approach to communication, conflict, and connection in relationships
• Advanced Certification in Strategic Intervention, Madanes Training Institute
• Founding member of Robbins-Madanes Strategic Coach Intervention Training Program and Marriage Education
• Extensive continuing education in anxiety, trauma, depression, somatic work, and emotional regulation
• Presenting Workshops on communication, stress management, parenting, and relationship skills
• Experience in outpatient, residential, school-based, and community mental health settings
• Past DIS counseling provided in Poway Unified and Vista Unified School Districts
• Work with families impacted by trauma, domestic violence, and major life stressors
• Ongoing collaboration with physicians, teachers, school staff, and community professionals on client care
• Small business owner, which gives me direct, lived insight into the work-life balance many of my clients are navigating
• Extensive volunteer work with children and families facing challenging and life-threatening medical conditions

I am a member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) and remain committed to ongoing professional development — I’ve found the best therapists never stop learning, and every client is different enough that they deserve that.

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