Community Highlights: Meet Czarina De Jesus of Czarina De Jesus, LMFT

Today we’d like to introduce you to Czarina De Jesus.

Czarina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello there! My name is Czarina De Jesus and I’m an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist). I own a private practice in Newport Beach and offer in-person and online therapy. I primarily work with children, teens, and young adults, and specialize in the OCD and anxiety population.

Growing up, I was always drawn to mental health, emotions, human connection, relationships, and kids! As an undergraduate at UCLA, I was a peer counselor and mentorship coordinator while also leading as president of Filipino Cultural School (FCS), an organization dedicated to educating the youth about Filipino culture. After graduating, I worked as an infant and toddler teacher in various early childcare centers and preschools. I loved being around the youth (and babies too!) and being able to support them by providing care and empathy.

After completing my master’s degree, I was ecstatic to begin offering therapy. As a trainee, I provided virtual therapy to college students at Vanguard University during the pandemic. After becoming an associate, I worked at two private practices—one focused on children, teens, and young adults, and another specializing in clients with OCD.

As a therapist, my dream was to join a private practice whose mission and values aligned with my own. I had no plans to open up my own solo or group private practice. But life pushed me in another direction.

In 2024, I found myself suddenly without a job. I had no plans on how to move forward. I had clients I could no longer see and I was at a crossroad. Should I open up my own practice or find another practice to work for? I was frustrated that I couldn’t provide therapy while simultaneously terrified of the unknown. And I made a decision to invest in myself—I decided to open up my own private practice!!!

Over a year later, this journey has changed and challenged me. The process has been, more than anything, a surprising journey of self-growth. Starting a private practice with no prior research and without months of planning challenged my mindset. The ebbs and flows of private practice challenged my ability to tolerate the unknown. Investing all my effort into this business challenged me to risk failure. Despite everything, I have been strengthened as a therapist, a business owner, and best of all, as a person. I know my worth in the field, my ethics are strong, and my mindset is grounded in purpose.

I’ve now been in private practice for over a year and have had my own office suite for the past 6 months. I primarily work with kids, teens, and young adults, and specialize in OCD, anxiety, and depression. Many of my clients are of the younger generation and working through OCD and/or anxiety. I also often work hand-in-hand with parents looking to better support their young children.

Some dreams you have your whole life and some dreams you are given. I am thankful life gave me new dreams to chase and grateful I gave myself the chance to pursue them.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road!

The most difficult parts have been rebuilding my confidence after suddenly losing my job, strengthening my mindset when aspects of my private practice were questioned, navigating the process of marketing my business and attracting clients, securing and establishing my own office suite, recruiting other mental health providers to sublease space in my office suite, and most of all, staying grounded through the inevitable ups and downs of private practice.

I consider myself a risk-averse person, so taking risks has been anxiety-provoking and scary for me. But also so empowering! I am learning that I am able to withstand the possibility of failure and that I can handle all things even if they go wrong. I am choosing to make decisions and live life out of strength and not fear.

As you know, we’re big fans of Czarina De Jesus, LMFT. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I primarily work with kids, teens, and young adults, and specialize in OCD, anxiety, and depression. I often work with many clients that are also neurodivergent. In supporting clients of all ages, I often address life transitions, relationship challenges, conflict, confidence/self-esteem, difficulties related to school, and stress management.

I recognize that I am in a unique position of not just providing a service—I am the service! I have spent countless hours refining my practice and brand to ensure that the care is both high quality and effective.

As a therapist, I describe my therapy as fun, personal, and creative. I want our sessions to feel authentic and like real-life! We will laugh, have fun, and make jokes, but we will also work hard. We will have a safe space full of empathy and warmth, but I will also challenge you to make the changes needed in your life. I find joy in taking tools/concepts and putting a creative twist on them to make them more relevant and personal. While symptoms matter, what I truly want to know is your world. Which means I want to know about your friends and family, job, partner, hobbies, favorite foods, interests, weird quirks, and everything that makes you who you are!

As a business owner, the quality of my service is of the utmost importance. This means customer service is a priority to me, whether you are a prospective or current client. From beginning to end, the process of therapy should be clear and organized. My office space is clean, comfortable, and playfully decorated (I love to put up seasonal decor)! There are snacks/drinks in the office along with cozy couches and pillows. I have a play room full of toys and books for all ages. I celebrate all of life’s wins with you so sometimes that means little gifts or greetings when it is your birthday, you’ve graduated, etc. You can depend on me to end and start sessions on time. If you reach out between sessions, I am responsive and you can rely on me to get back to you as soon as I can. I don’t ghost people!

When working with kids, I also help support the parents (when appropriate) with regular check-ins or scheduled parenting sessions. I help them grow their empathy and strengthen their attunement to their child, enhancing their effectiveness as caregivers.

As the service, I know that when I’m not my best, neither is my therapy. I prioritize my own self-care so that I can show up at my best for every session. This means I maintain a manageable and smaller caseload, schedule my days accordingly, take breaks between sessions, and prioritize my physical health with good sleep, exercise, and nutrition. I attempt to get sick as little as possible and plan vacations in advance to support my mental health and minimize disruptions to our work. This means you get a therapist that is on her A-game and ready to go for each session!

As a Filipino, I am also passionate about challenging the mental health stigma that exists in my community. I truly enjoy getting to work with other clients of the AAPI community. And although I mostly work with younger populations, I have found that these skills give me an edge when I work with adults. I believe that therapy transcends age, life stages, and gender. Some of my most memorable sessions have been with clients in later stages of life.

Overall, I am always open to new ways to grow, learn, and improve so that I can offer a quality service that better serves every client.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
When I can, I like to offer talks, discussions, presentations, or Q&As to high school clubs, college associations, Filipino clubs, parent groups, or other organizations to help increase knowledge and education of both therapy and mental health. I am knowledgable in mental health stigma in the AAPI community, parenting support, child and teen development, mental health/therapy overall, and all things anxiety and OCD!

I also love to meet and connect with other clinicians or mental health professionals in the field.

Other people can support me by showing some love to my website or instagram and ultimately, thinking of me and my service when it comes to therapy! Getting my name out there more is always so helpful. And when I’m not the right therapist for you, I love to help connect you to other referrals who may be a better fit.

Looking to start therapy? Think of me! Child with OCD needs therapy? Think of me! Anxious teen having a hard time? Think of me! Young adult struggling with college? Think of me! Adult looking to address past wounds? Think of me! A Filipino wanting to try therapy out? Think of me!

Thank you so much everyone!

Pricing:

• $200 per 50-min session
• I don’t accept insurance, but am out-of-network
• I can provide a monthly superbill to those with out-of-network benefits

Contact Info:

• Website: CzarinaDeJesus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapywithczarina
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/czarinadejesus
• Other: Email: [email protected]