Charles Yin

Currently only accepting focused, short-term therapy clients - 12 sessions or less.​ Hi I'm Charles Yin. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in CA. I live in San Diego, CA. Growing up in Minnesota, I struggled with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) (aka winter blues). This drove me to find better ways to cope with lack of energy, and feeling empty during the darker days of fall and winter. Two things helped me tremendously in weathering these emotional storms: Running track and cross-country in high school and college— and leaning into my growing faith in Christ. Throughout my adult years I've drawn tremendous comfort and the ability to stay anchored and live fully in the midst of life's inevitable storms via learning psychological tools and acceptance-based therapies. I hope to help you to live fully and meaningfully in the midst of your current pain and struggles.

My approach

YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY STUCK IN SELF-SABOTAGING PATTERNS. Are you struggling with overthinking, anxiety, ADHD, or people-pleasing? Are you living in fear and unable to find the courage to move forward? Are you just going through the motions and stuck in survival mode? Are you feeling disconnected from yourself and from others? Are you struggling with your faith and longing to connect with others spiritually? Are you feeling completely alone and isolated in your struggles? Are you doubting you’ll ever make real and lasting change? I HELP MY CLIENTS BUILD A FULL AND MEANINGFUL LIFE Each of us yearns to connect and belong. I help my clients become the person they have always wanted to be. I help them get out of their mind and into their life.

My focus

Common concerns of my clients include: relationships, loneliness/social connection, stress/work-life balance, self-esteem, ADHD, depression, values/meaning. Common wins/positive outcomes: Greater values clarification; increased self-awareness (of emotions and thought processes); increased committed action toward values . ~Greater social support/connection. ~Increased emotional intelligence (greater vocabulary for and awareness of emotions). ~Increased ability to cope with stress and take action in the midst of distress.

My communication style

I help my clients become friends with thei difficult thoughts, feelings, and memories and make wise choices even when it's hard. We often get stuck conforming to our culture and pleasing others. I help my clients break through and develop stronger emotional intelligence to experience a more vibrant and authentic life. I help my clients break free from excessive thinking and negative emotions holding them back, allowing them to take productive actions and live a fulfilling life in the midst of whatever life throws at them.

My journey to mental healthcare

MY STORY Growing up in Minnesota, I struggled with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) (aka winter blues). This drove me to find better ways to cope with lack of energy, and feeling empty during the darker days of fall and winter. Two things helped me tremendously in weathering these emotional storms: Running track and cross-country in high school and college— and leaning into my growing faith in Christ. After college, I moved to Honolulu, Hawai'i hoping that by exchanging dark Minnesota winters for tropical sunshine I was also exchanging my depression with happiness. However, even with palm trees, tropical beaches, and sunnier days that same, familiar, empty pit in my stomach began creeping and it dawned on me: "I am in Hawai'i and I am tan yet I'm still depressed." It may sound silly but since I had banked all my hopes of happiness and a bright future on relocating, I convinced myself it was not possible for me to be both tan and depressed at the same time. The reality gap between my conception that my struggles would cease once I relocated and the reality that here I was, tan, at the beach in Hawai'i and feeling depressed, was devastating for me at the time. It felt like I was back to square 1 and all my efforts had been in vain and my future looked bleak. However, God is good all the time…though I could not see how at the time. He was refining me further and using my weakness for good; I had no strength of my own and so I leaned into Him and step-by-step He guided me. I gradually learned that when I don’t feel it I can still take action toward what matters; that the deepest part of me always has the choice to ‘say Yes’ in the midst of pain. I started experiencing a great and graceful paradox: The more I tried to get rid of and avoid my depression the stronger it clung to me and the narrower and more black-and-white my life became. However, to the degree I was willing to turn towards it with curiosity, like a child’s first encounter with a puppy, the more fulfilling, and colorful my day was in the midst of my struggles. It was like recovering from a cold and having little energy but choosing to still spend time with a good friend and then finding yourself so engaged in conversation that you were hardly bothered by your running nose. This was a profound shift and an epiphany to me—no matter what circumstances you are dealing with—the deeper most meaningful experiences are readily available: they are “in the midst” not once your life is “perfect”. It’s no contradiction to feel depressed yet have great joy; to feel anxious and yet reside in peace; to feel uncomfortable yet step out confidently. The truth is it’s not realistic to expect that our psychological pain and struggles will be erased—there is no delete button for memories in our brain. It’s scientific fact that the more we avoid the more we end up experiencing inevitable pain + much greater suffering through the consequences created by avoidance + the pain of absence (missing out on our life - our present experience). Flipping it around—while counter-intuitive and counter-cultural—willingness to embrace our pain—our full experience—leads to full living: having joy and peace in the midst…of any of our circumstances. I’d love to guide you in getting out of your head and into living fully for what matters most to you. My friends, Joy is in the midst, Charles

My goals for you

Collaboratively; focusing on clarifying what truly matters (values/virtues) to the client and then aligning specific, tiny actions to those values. Throughout the process we flexibly modify/adapt the tools/skills as we learn what fits the client best. We look at areas that are controllable (e.g. choice points in action) rather than uncontrollable areas.

My first session with you

I'm excited to get to know you better and we can answer any questions you have and start taking action now, in a small way, towards living a fuller and more meaningful life.