Associate Clinician (AMFT/APCC)

Associate Clinician (AMFT/APCC) California Depth Therapy | San Diego, CA | In-Person

About California Depth Therapy

California Depth Therapy is a private-pay psychotherapy practice grounded in relational psychoanalysis and depth-oriented work. We begin with story. Symptoms are understood as meaningful adaptations shaped by relational experience, not problems to eliminate. The work is a process of uncovering, integrating, and coming into deeper contact with what has been held outside of awareness.

The standard here is not efficiency, but depth. Not performance, but presence.

About This Role

We are seeking an Associate Clinician who wants to be developed as a thoughtful psychodynamic therapist over time, not just an associate completing hours, but a clinician being shaped by a craft.

Graduate school introduces the vocabulary of this work. This practice is where that vocabulary becomes a living clinical orientation. Many associates finish training feeling drawn toward psychodynamic and relational approaches but find themselves in environments that don't support or reflect that orientation. If you find yourself drawn to the deeper currents beneath presenting symptoms, to the relational patterns, the unconscious process, the story beneath the story, and you're not finding that depth in your current setting, this position was designed for you.

This is not simply a place you work. It is a practice where learning and clinical formation are inseparable from the work itself.

The Work

You will work with adults, couples and adolescents in a private-pay setting, with a focus on narrative, relational patterns, and unconscious process. The work requires patience, emotional range, and the capacity to remain with complexity rather than move quickly toward resolution. You will be supported in developing your clinical voice within a clear theoretical frame, while contributing to a practice that takes this work seriously.

This is an in-person position. Available shifts include mornings, afternoons, and evenings, with Saturday availability required. Some schedule flexibility exists, though this role is not remote or primarily flex-based.

Responsibilities

Provide individual psychotherapy with consistency and care. Engage clients through a relational and psychodynamic lens. Hold a steady therapeutic frame and professional presence. Approach clinical material with depth, curiosity, and discipline. Maintain timely, thoughtful documentation. Participate in consultation and ongoing clinical development. Contribute to the integrity and culture of the practice.

Qualifications

• Registered in California as an AMFT or APCC
• Demonstrated interest in psychodynamic, relational, or depth-oriented therapy, whether through training, supervision, personal therapy, or independent study
• Capacity to think symbolically and work beyond surface-level intervention
• Comfort with high-functioning adults seeking deeper psychological work
• A strong sense of responsibility to the clinical process and therapeutic frame
• An existing caseload is preferred but not required. What matters most is clinical readiness and genuine interest in this orientation.

Formed in the Work

For clinicians serious about psychodynamic work, the associate years are formative. Where you train matters. This practice is built around the belief that post-graduate development is not an afterthought, it is the work itself.

Associates here are educated in psychodynamic psychotherapy as a living tradition. That means ongoing immersion in the theoretical foundations of the work: object relations, relational intersubjectivity, the unconscious life of the clinical encounter. It means learning to sit with what is not yet speakable, to hear what a story is carrying beneath its surface, to trust that what repeats is always trying to be understood. Alongside that theoretical grounding comes the clinical mentorship and consultation to bring that thinking into the room.

What forms here is a clinical mind — one shaped by psychodynamic and modern two-person analytic thought, by relational psychoanalysis, British object relations, and the Buberian conviction that two full human beings meeting in truth is not incidental to the work. It is the work. If you want to be trained in this art form, not just supervised through it, this is where that happens.

What We Offer

• W-2 employee with a percentage-based compensation structure
• Paid Sick Leave
• A consistent flow of private-pay referrals to support and grow your caseload
• Ongoing mentorship and psychodynamic consultation
• Post-graduate clinical education in psychodynamic/analytic therapy embedded in the practice
• The opportunity to grow within a setting that treats depth as a standard — a home for clinicians who want it to be the norm, not the exception.

This Position Is Best Suited For Someone Who

• Is drawn specifically to psychodynamic work and wants to develop excellence in it
• Values insight, integration, and relational repair over quick outcomes
• Is willing to slow down and let the work unfold
• Is interested in long-term clinical growth, not just completing hours
• Can tolerate ambiguity, silence, and emotional complexity in the room

This Position Is Likely Not a Fit If You

• Are primarily oriented toward brief or solution-focused modalities
• Prefer structured protocols or manualized treatment
• Are seeking a productivity-driven environment
• Measure success primarily through rapid symptom reduction

To Apply

Please submit your resume along with a brief statement responding to the following: What draws you to depth-oriented or psychodynamic psychotherapy, and how do you understand the role of story in clinical work?

Pay: $50,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person