Huntington Beach, CA - Counseling Services

Our Algonquin Street practice, at the Huntington Harbour end of the city, is one of two ACT Family Counseling offices in Huntington Beach. If you are looking for a therapist in Huntington Beach for yourself, your marriage or your family, you can be seen here.

Marriage counseling and couples therapy

Couples work is a large part of what happens at this office. People look for a marriage counselor when the arguing has become a loop, when something has been broken and neither of you is sure it can be talked about, or when the house has simply gone quiet. You do not both need to be certain — plenty of couples start with one person more convinced than the other — and we see unmarried partners for couples counseling on the same basis.

Couples come at different stages. Some want premarital counseling before the wedding rather than after something goes wrong. Others arrive after an affair, and want to know whether the marriage can survive it before deciding anything — infidelity is some of the most common work in this office, and it does not start with a verdict on whether to stay.

Individual and family therapy

We also see people one to one: therapy for anxiety that will not settle, depression, grief, a job that ended, trauma that has surfaced years later. Family sessions run here too, including parents who come without the teenager for the first appointment. You do not need a diagnosis to make an appointment, and you do not need to have worked out what the problem is before you arrive.

How the work is actually done

People often ask what a session looks like. Our therapists work in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) DBT therapy and EMDR for trauma — if you are looking specifically for an EMDR therapist, say so at intake and we will match you with one. Which one fits is a conversation rather than something decided before you walk in. If you already know that a particular approach has helped you before, say so at intake and we will match you accordingly.

Sessions are weekly to begin with for most people, and there is no minimum commitment. Some of what happens here is short and practical; some of it takes longer. Neither is a failure.

Where to find us

16897 Algonquin St, Suite B, Huntington Beach, CA 92649 — in Huntington Harbour, at the north end of the city off Warner Avenue, a few minutes from Bolsa Chica and the Huntington Harbour Mall. If you are coming from Sunset Beach, Seal Beach or Westminster it is a short drive up Algonquin. Telehealth is available anywhere in California if getting across town is the thing standing in your way.

Our other office nearby

Our second local practice is on Beach Boulevard, which focuses on work with children and teenagers. We also see clients in Newport Beach and across Orange County.

Insurance

We are contracted with Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, Cigna, Anthem Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California — Direct, Health Net, TRICARE and Optum, among others. See the full list of plans we are contracted with; our staff confirms your benefits before your first session.