North Park
Maybe you built a life that looks interesting, and still feel tired inside it.
30th Street and University, the Ray Street arts block, and a younger creative and tech-adjacent crowd. Ten minutes west on University or through the park.
Telehealth Monday through Friday, in person one Sunday a month
The Place
What it is actually like here
North Park is centered on the intersection of 30th Street and University Avenue, with the Ray Street arts block a few steps off it. It is one of the denser and younger parts of central San Diego, full of small businesses, apartments over storefronts, and craftsman houses on the streets behind them.
It draws creative and tech-adjacent people, along with anyone who wanted to be able to walk somewhere at night. The office is about ten minutes away, west on University and down, or through Balboa Park depending on the hour and your patience for the park roads.
At a Glance
- Shelley Davidescu, LMFT, 17 years in practice
- Telehealth Monday through Friday across California
- In person one Sunday a month in Bankers Hill
- Free 15-minute consultation
Individual sessions are $210, or $325 for 90 minutes. Couples sessions are $225, or $345 for 90 minutes.
Full fees and policiesGetting Here
Getting to the office
From 30th and University, west on University toward Hillcrest and then south on First Avenue to West Maple. Ten minutes is a fair estimate outside of the evening rush.
The alternative is cutting through Balboa Park and coming out on the west side of the park near Bankers Hill, which is often the calmer drive.
Parking around the office is metered or time-limited on weekdays and easier on Sundays. In-person sessions are one Sunday a month, so the weekday parking situation rarely comes up.
It is worth reading the schedule honestly before you book. Most of my work is telehealth, Monday through Friday. In-person sessions are limited to one Sunday a month at the Bankers Hill office, and those slots fill ahead of time.
Why People Write From Here
The pressures particular to this place
A lot of the people who reach out from here are in their late twenties to early forties, doing work that is genuinely creative or genuinely uncertain, often both. Freelancers, designers, people at small companies, people who left a bigger company on purpose. The income is variable and the anxiety tends to be variable with it, spiking in the gap between projects rather than during them.
The second thing is a comparison problem. This is a neighborhood where everyone appears to be doing something interesting, and social life is public: you see people out. Measuring your inside against a street full of other people's outsides is a very efficient way to feel behind, and it is quiet enough that most people do not name it as the issue when they write.
The third is that the coping here often looks like fun. Late nights, a full social calendar, a couple of drinks that take the edge off the week. None of that is a crisis, and I am not going to treat it as one. It is worth looking at honestly, because the strategies that keep the edge off also keep you from ever finding out what the edge is about.
Where to Start
Four places this usually begins
Anxiety Therapy
The variable, project-shaped anxiety that comes with uncertain work.
Perfectionism and Overthinking
For creative work that never feels finished enough to show anyone.
Dating
For the dating churn that a dense, social neighborhood makes very easy to stay in.
Life Transitions
For the stretch after a job, a move, or a relationship ends and nothing has replaced it.
Questions
Answered plainly
Anything not covered here is worth asking on the free 15-minute consult.
Related Reading
How far is your office from North Park?
About ten minutes by car, west on University and south on First to West Maple, or through Balboa Park. The office is at 2560 First Ave, Suite 202.
How often can I be seen in person?
In-person sessions are limited. I hold one Sunday a month at the Bankers Hill office, and those slots are booked ahead. Everything else runs by secure video, Monday through Friday. Most of my clients are telehealth clients from the first session onward, and the work is not a lesser version of the room.
Is telehealth as useful as sitting in the room?
For the work I do, yes, and for a lot of people it is more practical. Anxiety work, EMDR, and couples work all translate to video. What matters more than the format is whether you have a private hour and a door that closes. If you do not have that at home, we will talk about where else the hour could happen.
My income is irregular. How does that work with your fees?
Individual sessions are $210, or $325 for 90 minutes. I am private pay, and I provide superbills on request if you have out-of-network benefits. It is worth being straightforward about the cost on the consult rather than starting something you cannot sustain.
Do I need to come weekly?
Weekly is the usual rhythm at the start because momentum matters, and it often spaces out later. We will talk about what is realistic for your schedule and your budget rather than assuming a default.
Free 15-Minute Consult
Fifteen minutes to find out whether this is the right work.
Tell me what is going on and where you are in California. I will tell you honestly how I would approach it, and whether I am the right person for it.
In person in San Diego, and by telehealth across California.