Karen Kerschmann, LCSW

Karen Kerschmann is an experienced San Diego therapist who has spent more than a decade developing expertise in clinical practice through her work with adults, adolescents and families. Utilizing two main modalities of treatment as a cognitive behavioral therapist and hypnotherapist, she helps clients realize significant change in their lives. Her credentials include the completion of 100-hours of advanced clinical hypnosis training with the internationally recognized therapist Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D. Ms. Kerschmann also consults with Dr. Yapko on a regular basis.

In 2010, she further enhanced her knowledge by traveling to Bangalore, India, to train local therapists on parenting millennial teens and is a leader in the delivery of therapist and trainer in the area of adolescent mental health. She also attends ongoing training through the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, the internationally recognized standard for cognitive behavioral therapy and supported by the father of cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. Aaron Beck.

Ms. Kerschmann is committed to contributing to the field of psychotherapy through research. Her work providing clinical consult in field trials regarding proposed diagnostic criteria has been acknowledged by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, also referred to as the DSM-5. Additionally, on numerous occasions, Ms. Kerschmann’s work with cognitive behavioral process in adolescents has been acknowledged in the professional journal The Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies.

Ms. Kerschmann’s experience includes training with the Family Mediation Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where she contributed to the creation of a parent-adolescent-school mediation program (CRESS), which is now utilized by the Victoria Family Court System and affiliated therapists.

In 2004, Ms. Kerschmann earned her license to practice as a therapist in the state of California while working for the San Diego County Children’s Services bureau. During that time she was a social worker with the Adoptions Program and later helped establish the HOME Program, which provides housing for former foster youth. Ms. Kerschmann was also licensed as a custody mediator in the state of Minnesota in 1998.

Karen Kerschmann’s educational background includes a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with an emphasis in law and political psychology.

In addition to her private practice, Ms. Kerschmann is an advocate for current and former foster youth and is a foster parent for Special Families. She provides clinical therapist services to various group homes and foster teens, as well as offering individual, group and family therapy to former foster youth under the age of 25 for a low fee or pro bono. Ms. Kerschmann also volunteered hours of therapy services to perpetrators of animal abuse through the BARC program.