Therapists

Meet Our Therapists

Kathryn de Bruin

“Born and raised in South Africa a number of my first milestones were achieved in this beautiful, dynamic country.

Amongst these were completing my schooling, a Bachelors of Arts in Social Work, as well beginning my work experience in a private practice in South Africa’s capital city Pretoria. It was there that I facilitated preventative programmes in schools and practiced child therapy.

Alongside my husband, we moved to Aachen, Germany, for two years, an experience which enabled me to explore the human psyche in terms of environment adjustments and change management. It was after this two year period that my husband and I moved to San Diego, USA. Having lived in various countries, experiencing and working with different ethnic groups, I have become better equipped to relate to and counsel individuals dealing with life changes and challenges.

In 2004, having lived in San Diego for four years, I attained my Masters of Arts at Bethel Seminary, graduating Summa Cum Laude. It was during my training and internship that I was able to work in a variety of settings to gain the experience and expertise required for effective psychotherapy.

I have a passion to empower individuals and families to attain a higher standard of functioning. I am therefore licensed in California as a Marriage and Family Therapist, a registered Play Therapist Supervisor and an Emotionally Focused Therapy Supervisor. I am also passionate about supervising and consulting other professionals who work with children, families and couples. This includes weekly individual and group supervision to trainees and interns of the non-profit Alliant Couple and Family Clinic.

I am a wife and a mother of three children. This experience has enabled me to reflect on the significance of Child Therapy as well as Marital Therapy and given me the life experience necessary to interact with clients and professionals alike, ensuring a meaningful, sustainable connection.”

MyResume.doc

Alfonso Espinosa

Bilingual: English & Spanish

“I grew up in a large family in Spain. I was drawn to software and engineering from an early age, I came to the USA for a technical career in satellite communications. I have enjoyed being part of excellent teams designing and creating products that help people communicate. After experiencing personal change and evolution in my own therapy for several years I became fascinated and awed by the power of therapy to help improve people’s lives. I believe every person has an innate inner drive to strive for their own growth and happiness. A supportive, caring attachment figure is a catalyst for such drive to reach a person’s potential. I realized I wanted to be part of that process for other people. I decided to change careers and dedicate my life to therapy. I haven’t regretted that decision ever since. I integrate different therapy models depending on the client’s needs. When working with couples I use mainly Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT), which is a model of therapy that has been validated by research to be especially effective for couples. EFT is based on attachment theory. Partners with a solid emotional bond find safety and security with their partner. Partners securely attached can express their true feelings and be their most authentic self, knowing their relationship is strong enough to withstand temporary disconnections and misunderstandings that happen in every couple. They can repair and heal wounds together leveraging the strong sense of trust built in.

I strive to provide a safe environment that fosters individuals and partners taking risks to express their most vulnerable emotions, to truly hear each other and be fully heard and understood. Clients are supported to reach out to each other for genuine, heartfelt connection, to see in each other’s eyes the love and joy too often couples lose along the way. Everyone longs to feel understood and loved, even in our imperfections and when we make mistakes. I want to help you find attachment security in your relationship, so you too can feel the joy to love and be loved without the constant fear of losing the very connection which you care for the most. I honor each person that walks in to session and meet them where they are. I look forward to meeting you and working with you to achieve your goals.

Living in San Diego is a great base of operations for my hobbies: Hiking, backpacking in the Sierras, woodworking, swimming (in Summer), home improvement, and reading, which I love.”

Education:

B.S. in Electrical Engineering – U. Notre Dame

M.S. in Electrical Engineering/Telecommunications – U. Villanova
M.A. in Marital and Family Therapy – Alliant International University

Additional Training:

EFT Externship – 2016
EFT Core Skills – 2017
AEDP Immersion Workshop – 2017
Relational Gestalt Practice – 2017
Member of CAMFT
MFT Registered Intern (IMF102684)

https://alfonsoclinic3.wixsite.com/alfonsoeft

Ansley Fraser Curtis

“I ground and orient my work in attachment theory and with an emotion-focused lens, recognizing that our emotions are often some of our most powerful messages about our needs, desires and how we are experiencing our world. I’m very relationship-oriented and recognize the healing transformative power of relationships, knowing that we heal and grow in the context of relationships with our partners and/or children, with therapists who walk alongside us, and with ourselves. Relationships are the most powerful vehicle of healing. As a practitioner, my style is more eclectic as I pull together common elements of evidenced-based practices (i.e. EFT, TF-CBT, child-centered play therapy, child parent psychotherapy, etc.) to get to the heart of the matter with children and their families in order to help them reconnect to themselves and each other. I specialize in working with children and adolescents, family systems, and in the treatment of trauma.

I absolutely LOVE my work! I would say my favorite aspect is creating connections. I truly enjoy getting to know the children and families I work with and consider it an honor to walk alongside families as they work towards creating stronger connections within themselves and with each other. Working as a play therapist is also just really enjoyable!

I look forward to meeting & working with you!”

Experience:

Therapist, Rady Children’s Chadwick Trauma Counseling Program
Therapist, New Alternatives, Crisis Action & Connection
Therapist, Pathways Community Services Catalyst Program

Education and Affiliations:

Play Therapy Certificate (in progress), UCSD

Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy, Virginia Tech

Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Virginia Tech

CAMFT member

Approved TERM provider through Optum

Additional Training:

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Certified

Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Certified

September 2018–Present: Child Parent Psychotherapy Learning Collaborative, UCSF’s Chandra Ghosh Ippen, PhD

Emotionally Focused Therapy Externship, Fall 2013

Berenice Leon-Fonseca

I once heard someone say, “not everyone needs therapy, but everyone can benefit from it.” I couldn’t agree more. It can be scary to invite someone into your intimate life experiences, but in that, I see great strength. I honor that courage and vulnerability, and I am passionate about providing a safe space for the children and families that I work with.

I was born and raised in Arizona, to Mexican immigrant parents, and was exposed to diversity at a young age. As a result of my upbringing, I have a great understanding of multi-generational cultural differences and the struggles that come from being bicultural and bilingual (Spanish language). Marriage eventually brought me to sunny San Diego, California over 17 years ago, which has provided me with a great deal of experience in working with a diverse population. Over the span of 15 plus years, I worked as a Paralegal at the Office of the Family Law Facilitator, with the San Diego Superior Court, South County Division, where I helped parents and guardians navigate through their legal matters. Such experience has afforded me the opportunity to understand the process and the impact that the Family Court system can have on individuals and families. Ultimately, I was moved to pursue a career in mental health to help empower people to move beyond their current realities and past challenges, and toward a deeper sense of personal freedom and self-understanding.

Because I believe in creating healthy emotional connections, I work within an Emotionally Focused Therapy lens to help support my clients on their journey towards healing and wholeness. It is a joy and a privilege to do the work that I do!

I look forward to meeting and working with you!

Therapeutic Specialties:

Children ages 2-18, with anxiety, depression, and mood disorders

Families; Adult children and parents, and families navigating through family separation

Parenting

Premarital

Faith-based Counseling

Education & Affiliations:

M.A. in Marital and Family Therapy from Bethel University – Seminary San Diego.

B.A. in Sociology from the University of San Diego

A.S. Paralegal Studies Cuyamaca College

AAMFT member

ICEFFT member

Additional Training:

Emotionally Focused Therapy Externship, Winter 2020

Erica Thompson

“I’m a firm believer in that everyone deserves therapy. We all deserve time when we are truly seen, supported, and validated. Many of us like to think we can handle things on our own. Maybe we were told by people in our lives “suck it up” or “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” The fact of the matter is that life gets messy sometimes and we can’t do it alone. I want to help you navigate what life is bringing your way.

I grew up in Massachusetts, where I received my Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Assumption College in 2006. In my years of counseling experience, I’ve working in variety of treatment settings, including community mental health, outpatient programs supporting individuals with both mental health and substance misuse disorders, and higher education. Prior to moving to California, I spent over six years working at Worcester Polytechnic Institute as both a counselor and later Associate Director of the Student Development & Counseling Center. There my responsibilities included counseling college students and overseeing all outreach and prevention education (substance abuse, suicide and sexual assault prevention). I had the privelege of working on two grants. SAMSHA’s Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant and the DOJ Office of Violence Against Women Grant to Reduce Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking both allowed me to take part in trainings with national experts and to develop programs that support students. In my clinical work, I’ve seen amazing healing happen with clients especially using EMDR and IFS. I made the decision to go in to private practice so that I would be able to support individuals without the limitations of academic or program schedules and insurance driven time restraints. Sometimes the therapeutic work an individual wants and needs to do may take weeks or months, and sometimes that person has more long term goals.

I’m passionate about supporting survivors of trauma and attachment wounds. These events can leave us questioning our value, lovability, and safety. We try the best way we know how to move forward. Sometimes we find adaptive ways to cope. Sometimes the way we cope causes us additional struggles (ie substance misuse, other compulsive behaviors, unhealthy relationships). Together we can find a healthier way to live. Healing these early wounds allows us to gain confidence and to find meaningful connections.

Massachusetts will always have a special place in my heart, but I’m happy to call San Diego my home. I enjoy being able to sit outside and relax with my husband and sweet pups year round. Some of my hobbies include exercise, dining out, going to movies, and listening to live music. I look forward to learning about you and the work we can accomplish together.”