Kasie Shahbaz

What it’s like to be in therapy with me

You may be someone who seems capable and put together on the outside, while privately wondering if you’re ever doing enough. Maybe you learned to anticipate other people’s needs, work hard for approval, or be especially careful not to make mistakes. Those patterns may have helped you find safety or belonging, but they can make it difficult to rest, trust yourself, or feel worthy as you are.

In our work, you don’t have to earn care by being impressive or easy to understand. We’ll get curious about where your self-criticism began and what it would mean to build self-esteem that doesn’t disappear when you disappoint someone or fall short of a goal.

How I Work

I’m warm, attentive, honest, and deeply engaged. I listen closely and reflect back what I hear, including strengths you may have trouble seeing in yourself. There’s room for humor, tenderness, and direct conversation.

Early sessions are about getting to know your story and what helps you feel safe enough to do this work. Over time, I help you understand your patterns with compassion, develop tools you can use, and build a more secure relationship with yourself. With couples and families, I help each person feel heard while we slow down painful cycles of conflict and rebuild empathy.

Who I Work With

I specialize in working with:

• Teens working through identity, emotional challenges, or difficult experiences
• People healing from complex trauma who want to feel safer in their bodies and relationships
• Perfectionists and people pleasers who are tired of measuring their worth by what they accomplish or how others respond to them
• People navigating their relationship with substances or other coping behaviors, looking for a compassionate place to explore what they need right now
• People of color and adult children of immigrants navigating identity, belonging, and family expectations
• Adults raised by loving but highly critical or emotionally demanding parents who want to make sense of that complexity
• People with intense emotions or painful relationship patterns who want practical, skills-based tools alongside deeper understanding
• People healing from religious trauma who want space to examine shame, belonging, identity, or faith on their own terms
• Artists, musicians, writers, and creators who feel blocked, exposed, or caught between making work and being seen
• People in public facing roles who struggle with scrutiny, expectations, or the pressure to be a version of themselves for others
• Couples and families who want to move beyond blame and communicate with more care
• People experiencing anxiety or depression who want relief and a deeper understanding of what they’re going through

My Training and Tools

My work is grounded in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which I use often with teens, with people managing intense emotions, and with anyone working on their relationship with substances or other coping behaviors. DBT gives us concrete skills for navigating overwhelming feelings while we do the deeper work underneath them. I also draw on Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and somatic approaches, so we can work with the parts of you that carry pain and pay attention to what your body is telling us. We’ll move at a pace that supports your sense of safety and choice.

In couples therapy, I draw on the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to help us understand the cycle you get caught in together and make it easier to reach for each other beneath conflict.

Education & Background

• Associate Clinical Social Worker (ACSW #104901)
• Master of Social Work, University of Southern California
• Undergraduate studies in Theology, with minors in Philosophy and Environmental Studies, University of San Francisco
• 200-hour yoga teacher training, Prana Yoga, La Jolla
• Trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A Little More About Me

I became a therapist because I believe our wounds can become a source of compassion and connection. The idea of the wounded healer is close to my heart, the lessons we draw from our own pain can deepen how we show up for others.

As the daughter of a Lebanese immigrant, I know how complicated it can be to hold love and gratitude for your family alongside the impact of criticism or expectations that left little room for your own needs.

I’m also a musician and creative writer, and I’ve studied writing with Tony Tulathimutte. Creativity has taught me how vulnerable it can feel to make something true and let other people see it. I love working with people who are finding their voice, whether in their art, their relationships, or the life they’re building.

My Specialties