San Francisco · California

Therapy in San Francisco

Serving San Francisco in-person and through secure telehealth.

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therapy in the Bay Area

San Francisco rewards productivity. The culture here runs on output, optimization, and the quiet assumption that you should always be performing at a high level. Many of the people I work with in the city are high-functioning — successful by every external measure — and exhausted underneath it.

The anxiety often doesn’t look like anxiety. It looks like constant planning, difficulty delegating, a mind that won’t stop running scenarios. It can look like relationships where you’re the steady one, the capable one, the one who holds everything together — while your own needs go unspoken. These patterns often have roots in early attachment dynamics, not in work culture alone.

Therapy that addresses anxiety at the nervous system level — rather than just the cognitive level — can reach the patterns that coping strategies and productivity hacks can’t, including the deeper wounds that often drive them. I offer individual and group therapy online for adults throughout California.

Esma Verma, licensed clinical social worker, smiling in her therapy office 
Meet Esma

I'm Esma Verma, LCSW

Esma Verma is a licensed psychotherapist and Brainspotting clinician offering individual and group therapy online for adults throughout California, including San Francisco and the Bay Area. She works integratively with Brainspotting, IFS, and somatic approaches to support clients navigating anxiety, complex trauma, and attachment-related patterns.

More about Esma

Services

Depth-oriented therapy for people who are done with surface-level solutions.

Warm sunlit therapy room with wooden chair and plant

Individual Therapy

One-on-one sessions tailored to your history, your nervous system, and your goals. We work at your pace — and we go as deep as you're ready to go. Anxiety, trauma, attachment, identity — we'll get to the root together.

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Glass conservatory with lush plants, sheltered growth

Brainspotting Group Therapy

A small, curated group experience that combines the depth of Brainspotting with the healing power of being witnessed. There's something that shifts when you realize you're not the only one carrying this.

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What I Offer

Therapy Services in San Francisco

Services

Adult Individual Therapy · Brainspotting Group Therapy · Branspotting Intensives

Specialties

Anxiety · Trauma · Attachment

modalities

Brainspotting, IFS, somatic work, CBT — integrative, nervous-system-informed

flexible approach

Weekly, Every Other Week, or As-Needed Sessions

“My therapeutic approach is one of wholeness. Rather than finding temporary relief of symptoms, I help clients find lasting growth and healing.”

Common questions

FAQ

  • How does therapy work for clients in San Francisco?

  • Online individual and group Brainspotting therapy is offered via secure telehealth, so you can work with me from San Francisco or anywhere in the Bay Area without commuting to an office. My integrative approach using Brainspotting, IFS, and somatic approaches translates well to video. Brainspotting Intensives are offered at my San Francisco office located at 220 Montgomery St # 600, San Francisco, CA 94104. Brainspotting intensives are a popular choice for individuals who live out of state but wish to work with me. I offer in-person sessions exclusively in this format, and you’re welcome to come to San Francisco for an intensive.

  • What is Brainspotting?

  • Brainspotting is a brain- and body-based therapy that works with the nervous system directly to access and process material that isn’t always reachable through talk therapy alone. Rather than relying on insight or analysis, Brainspotting uses your natural visual field to locate where emotional and somatic activation is held — and supports your nervous system in processing it at a pace that feels manageable.

  • How do I know if your approach is right for me?

  • If you’re navigating anxiety, attachment patterns, or trauma — and you sense that the root goes deeper than what coping strategies or productivity hacks can reach — this kind of integrative, nervous-system-informed work may be a good fit. Many of my clients in San Francisco have tried other approaches first. You’re welcome to reach out through the contact form and we can start with a conversation.

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Take the First Step

Ready to Stop Managing
and Start Healing?

You don’t need to have it all figured out. If what you’ve read resonates, you’re welcome to reach out through the contact form.

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