Business Details
14 Years
experience
Emergency
services
Your Trusted Mental Health Therapy Partner in San Diego
Grow Through Life Counseling was founded in 2012 to provide high-quality mental health support to families in Chula Vista, CA. Our team of licensed clinicians specializes in evidence-based therapies for children, teens, adults, couples, and families, with a focus on emotional growth and relationship-building. We offer in-person services at nine locations across San Diego and Riverside Counties, as well as Telehealth statewide. Our clinicians bring decades of combined experience in treating anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, and family dynamics.We prioritize relationship-driven care, ethical practices, and accessibility through insurance partnerships, evening/weekend hours, and a client-centered approach. Our mission emphasizes cultural sensitivity, reducing mental health stigma, and fostering community collaboration to improve long-term outcomes for all ages.
Services
Anxiety Treatment
Depression Treatment
Child Therapy
Teen Therapy
Couples Therapy
Family Therapy
Parenting Support
Stress Management
Neurodivergent Support
Telehealth Services
Details
- Year established: 2012
Highlights and features
- We offer in-person care at 9 convenient locations and Telehealth statewide.
- Our clinicians are licensed experts in evidence-based therapies for all ages.
- We provide evening/weekend appointments to accommodate family schedules.
- We verify insurance benefits and accept most HSA/FSA cards directly.
- We prioritize relationship-driven care with direct therapist communication channels.
What people say
Compassionate therapists
Flexible scheduling
Insurance-friendly
Family-friendly spaces
Effective treatment plans
Services
Anxiety Treatment
Our anxiety treatment employs evidence-based methods like CBT and DBT to address anxiety disorders across all ages. We specialize in managing generalized anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, and OCD through personalized coping strategies. Our approach focuses on calming the amygdala's fight-or-flight response while building healthier neural pathways, with family involvement when appropriate.
Depression Treatment
Specialized depression treatment combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with strengths-based approaches to combat mood disorders. We address clinical depression in youth and adults through tailored interventions that improve neurochemical balance and emotional regulation. Our therapists focus on developing coping skills while addressing underlying causes like life transitions and traumatic events.
Child Therapy
Our child therapy services utilize play therapy and developmental approaches for children aged 0-12. We address behavioral issues, anxiety, and trauma through age-appropriate techniques that foster emotional growth. Parents receive guidance to reinforce therapeutic gains at home, with special attention to early intervention for long-term positive outcomes.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy focuses on improving communication patterns and resolving conflicts through structured sessions. Our therapists help partners rebuild trust, enhance intimacy, and develop effective conflict resolution skills. We address issues ranging from daily stressors to healing after infidelity using evidence-based therapeutic frameworks.
Neurodivergent Support
Specialized support for neurodivergent individuals includes ADHD symptom management and executive functioning coaching. Our therapists employ strengths-based approaches to improve time management, emotional regulation, and social skills. We offer tailored strategies for both children and adults navigating neurotypical environments while maintaining self-acceptance.
People
Kara Kohnen
LMFT, Director of Growth and Founder
Kara Kohnen founded Grow Through Life Counseling in 2012 with a vision for exceptional child and family mental health care. She has over 20 years of clinical experience specializing in pediatric therapy and family systems, leading our team of 50+ clinicians across nine locations.
Erica McDaniel
LCSW
Erica McDaniel brings extensive experience in trauma-focused therapy and family counseling. With 15 years in clinical social work, she supervises our team's therapeutic approaches to complex cases involving intergenerational trauma and behavioral challenges.
Abel Pena
LMFT
Abel Pena specializes in adolescent mental health and family therapy. With expertise in culturally sensitive care, he leads training programs for our clinicians on addressing anxiety disorders in teens from diverse backgrounds.
Ava Kharrazian
LPCC
Ava Kharrazian focuses on evidence-based treatment for depression and anxiety disorders. She contributes to developing our Telehealth protocols and specializes in cognitive-behavioral interventions across the lifespan.
Glen Hilton
LMFT
Glen Hilton specializes in couples and family therapy with 18 years of clinical experience. He leads our premarital counseling programs and develops training modules on conflict resolution strategies for our clinical team.
Questions
What mental health services do you offer?
We provide anxiety treatment, depression care, child/teen therapy, couples counseling, family therapy, parenting support, and ADHD management for all ages through in-person and Telehealth options.
Do you accept insurance?
Yes, we're in-network with major providers including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, and Tricare. We also provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
What locations are available?
We have nine in-person locations across San Diego and Riverside Counties including Scripps Ranch, Sorrento Valley, Murrieta, Oceanside, and Temecula, plus statewide Telehealth services.
Do you offer evening and weekend appointments?
Yes, we provide after-school and weekend sessions to accommodate family schedules, reflecting our commitment to accessible mental health care.
What crisis support options exist?
For emergencies, call 9-1-1 or visit the nearest ER. Our 24/7 Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240 provides immediate support for suicidal thoughts or severe mental health crises.
Reviews (3)
Kai Dickens
Dec 19, 2021
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Kara is one of the most genuine, caring and kind souls that I have met and she has created an amazing organization that is making a huge difference in this world. For me one of the marks of a business that I want to work with is in how the ownership treats their team - I can assure you the staff at Grow Through Life Counseling are treated with love which directly correlates to their work with patients. Therapy can feel like a scary thing to seek out - but you can rest assured knowing that you will be in the BEST hands with the team here.
Joe Guerrero
Jun 16, 2021
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Grow Through Life Counseling of Sorrento Valley is just amazing. The amount of kindness, help and compassion that they provide it's just life changing. Every single team member of the company is very professional, well trained and they also speak Spanish. Thank you for all the help.
Melanie Martinez
May 27, 2021
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I have referred my family to Kara and her team of individual therapists to help with my niece. I can't say enough about Grow Through Life Counseling, they are very professional and I highly recommend Kara and her team!
