Colleen Auth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of adults and older adults suffering from depression, bipolar, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and various personality disorders including Borderline Personality Disorder. She has experience in working with many of life’s problems such as grief and loss, conflict resolution and anger management. Colleen works with each patient to understand his or her symptoms and the problems that impact their mood, and then creates a holistic approach to develop a unique treatment plan that is tailored to address individual needs. Colleen’s therapeutic orientation uses evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behavioral, Mindfulness, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Her approach in treatment is genuine and down to earth with a touch of humor as needed.
Colleen has been in the social work field for more than 25 years and has been working as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 21 years. Colleen's experience began at the United Way as a Resource Specialist designing and managing a database of all non-profit agencies and resources in San Diego County now used for 211. This experience led to a vast knowledge of the programs and resources in our community, which is an asset to her therapeutic interventions today. Currently, Colleen is a senior therapist at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital’s Cognitive Intensive Outpatient Program and Dialectical Behavior Skills Intensive Outpatient Program providing group therapy with the focus on teaching skills to overcome negative thinking and painful emotions that are ever present with depression and anxiety.
Colleen obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from East Carolina University with a minor in Social Work. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from San Diego State University. Colleen completed her internship training at Kaiser Hospice and Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital’s Outpatient and Older Adult Psychiatric Unit. She has trained with pioneers and experts in the fields of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction including Christine Padesky PhD, David Burns MD, and Zindel V. Segal PhD.
“One of the cardinal features of cognitive therapy is that it stubbornly refuses to buy into your sense of worthlessness”
-David Burns, 1980