Do I need a PTSD diagnosis to start military therapy?

No, many active duty service members and veterans begin therapy for stress, sleep problems, anger, anxiety, depression, relational strain, grief, transition, or feeling disconnected. You don’t need to diagnose yourself before reaching out.

Is therapy confidential for active duty military?

Therapy is generally confidential, with legal and ethical limits related to safety, risk of harm, abuse reporting, court orders, or other required disclosures. Active duty service members should ask directly about confidentiality, documentation, and any coordination with outside systems before beginning care.

Can therapy help if I am still serving?

Yes, therapy can support active duty service members who are managing stress, trauma exposure, relational strain, anger, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, or the ongoing demands of service. Your therapist can work with you to identify goals that fit your current life and responsibilities.

Do you work with veterans adjusting to civilian life?

Yes, therapy can help veterans process the emotional and relational changes that often come with leaving military service, including identity changes, loss of structure, family adjustment, work or school transitions, and difficulty reconnecting with civilian life.

Are virtual sessions available?

Yes, SD Psychology offers both in-person sessions in La Jolla and Encinitas and telehealth across California.

What if I am in crisis or worried about hurting myself?

If you’re in immediate danger or may harm yourself or someone else, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and their loved ones can contact the Veterans/Military Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or using online chat for free, confidential 24/7 support.

Military Therapy & Counseling for Active Duty & Veterans in San Diego, CA

Military service shapes how you respond to stress, connection, and pressure long after the moment has passed. Even when daily life looks manageable on the outside, the weight of service can show up in sleep difficulties, relational challenges, anger, or a quiet sense of distance.

At SD Psychology, you can find military therapy in San Diego that’s designed to help active duty service members, veterans, and military-connected adults understand how service continues to shape them.

Ready to move forward with more steadiness? Here, we’ll cover what you can expect from our military therapy services.

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When Military Service Starts to Weigh on Daily Life

You might want to consider military therapy if stress, trauma exposure, or transition are starting to affect your daily life in ways that feel hard to manage on your own. These patterns may not always feel urgent, but they can begin to shape how you sleep, work, and connect with the people around you.

You might begin to notice:

Feeling constantly on alert, tense, or unable to fully rest
Avoiding reminders of deployment, service, injury, or loss
Emotional numbness or distance from people who matter to you
Anger, irritability, guilt, shame, or moral conflict
Sleep disrupted by nightmares, racing thoughts, or physical tension
Difficulty adjusting to civilian life, work, school, or relationships
Relying on isolation, overworking, or alcohol to get through the day

Military therapy in San Diego offers a structured way to understand what is contributing to these patterns and how to approach them with more clarity.

What Military Therapy Helps You Navigate

Counseling for the military often focuses on patterns that develop during service and continue to shape daily life afterward. These may include combat exposure, military sexual trauma, injury, loss of team members, or the cumulative weight of high-stakes responsibility.

Care can also help you navigate challenges like relational strain, reintegration after deployment, identity shifts after leaving service, and the slow erosion of sleep, focus, or connection.

Ultimately, you can’t erase what happened, but the right support can make you feel less alone with what you’re carrying and help you develop more steadiness in how you move forward.

Explore Our Therapy Services

SD Psychology provides individual psychotherapy, couples therapy, and group therapy, along with specialty areas that often support active duty service members, veterans, and military-connected adults. The most relevant services for military-connected clients are:

Anxiety Therapy · Grief & Loss Therapy · Therapy for Women · Couples Therapy · Trauma & PTSD Therapy · Individual Psychotherapy

How Counseling Sessions Typically Work

Our sessions are structured to help you understand how service has shaped your nervous system, relationships, and daily life—and to develop practical ways to respond differently.

In sessions, you may:

Talk through current stressors and patterns
Identify how stress or trauma shows up in the body
Explore avoidance, hypervigilance, or emotional shutdown
Build practical skills for sleep, regulation, and communication
Process difficult memories at a pace that feels manageable

Your therapist may draw from evidence-based approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-informed care, and exposure-based principles. All of this will be personalized to your goals and comfort level.

Meet Our Therapists

Therapy for veterans and active duty service members is provided by licensed clinicians who take a thoughtful, individualized approach. Meet our team of clinicians, each of whom brings a different background and clinical focus, allowing clients to find support that feels respectful, collaborative, and aligned with their needs.

Dr. Stamatia Daroglou

Licensed clinical psychologist and founder of SDPsychology with 30+ years of experience, specializing in adult and couples therapy, trauma, anxiety, and complex emotional care.

Dr. Ivy Kensinger

Psychological Associate (Dr. K) specializing in therapy for adults and adolescents, with expertise in trauma, chronic illness, grief, and LGBTQ+ mental health, using a personalized, strengths-based, existential approach.

Dr. Casey Adamson

Licensed Clinical Psychologist with 15+ years of experience, specializing in trauma care, veteran support, and evidence-based therapies, providing counseling for individuals, couples, and families.

Dr. Danna Gonzalez Casas

Psychological Associate specializing in adult and couples therapy, with a bilingual (Spanish/English), integrative approach focused on trauma, BIPOC and immigrant communities, and holistic, evidence-based care.

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Our San Diego Locations for Military Therapy

SD Psychology offers trauma therapy for the military with options for in-person sessions at multiple locations, along with telehealth when appropriate.

Each office is designed to provide a private, calm environment where you can focus on the process without distraction. Having access to local support makes it easier to stay consistent with care and apply what you’re working on in therapy to your daily life.

Begin Military Therapy in San Diego

If service, trauma, transition, or relationship strain has been difficult to carry alone, support is available.

A first consultation gives you space to ask questions, understand the approach, and decide if it feels like a good fit. From there, sessions move at a pace that supports steady, meaningful progress.

Contact us today to get started.