When someone you love is struggling, getting the right help shouldn't take months.
Pivot Counseling provides timely, personalized care for teens and young adults that looks beyond surface-level coping to understand what's really driving the struggle, so they can start moving forward, and you can feel more confident about how to support them.
You shouldn't have to wait months while the problem gets worse.
We look beyond symptoms and coping strategies to understand the patterns driving the struggle.
Treatment is personalized to the individual, family, and situation rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · Pleasanton · 53 reviews Walnut Creek, Pleasanton and online
Most families who come to us aren't in crisis. They're worried, and the usual fixes stopped working.
Therapy, assessments, psychiatry, and groups are all here. You don't have to sort through them. We help you find the right starting point and add more only when it helps.
Anxiety, school stress, ADHD, a teen or young adult pulling away. Help for them, and for you.
Support for you as a parent, and family sessions when the whole house feels the strain.
For parents and families
Answers instead of guesses, for ADHD, learning and school struggles.
About assessmentsAlso under How We Help: Therapy for adults · Couples · Psychiatry & medication · Groups & programs · EMDR · Clinical nutrition
From the first contact, we aim to provide care that feels responsive, personal, and human. We see the whole person, not just the problem, and work collaboratively with you rather than simply telling you what to do.
When appropriate, we can involve parents, coordinate with schools, and connect families with additional services without sending them back to square one.
When your teen is the client, we thoughtfully involve parents when it best supports their care, while respecting the trust and privacy that effective teen therapy requires.
When you choose better, you live better.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google · Pleasanton · 53 reviews
★★★★★Raising teenagers in this day and age is tough, especially with social media, disturbing new broadcasts, academic pressure etc. Dr. Yen helped me with navigating the issues with my teenagers. He has a great way of positioning questions in a thoughtful manner to allow for the kids to ruminate and ponder. And also for me as well. Dr. Yen was also extremely accessible, he gave me his cell phone and made himself available. He even allowed us a phone session the evening before leaving on a vacation. I would highly recommend Dr Yen for adults and young adults as well.
★★★★★I cannot say enough good things about Tim. Tim has helped my teenage Son work through many obstacles in his life such as social anxiety and negative thinking. Tim is a down to earth, caring, thoughtful, compassionate person. He easily makes a person feel welcome and comfortable right from the moment you meet him. He tries different methods and never gave up on helping my Son. My Son never felt judged by Tim and could easily speak to him about everything and anything. Tim always has a great attitude too. He is thoughtful in his methods on how to help and never gives up. My Son saw him for about two years and has learned techniques and thought methods to help deal with theses tough teenage years. We love Tim.
★★★★★Dr Yen is amazing! He provided great mentorship and guidance for my son at the height of the pandemic when my son was feeling isolated and low. They set goals together to overcome a lot of the challenges that teens may face such as socialization, anxiety and overall just how to best understand or navigate emotions. My son looked to Dr Yen as a friend he meet with weekly and now a life mentor. I would highly recommend his guidance and service for any family, child or teen who may be in need of another perspective and addtl tools for navigating different life obstacles.
★★★★★Dr. Yen is a young, cool guy that helped our son through just a few sessions! He understood what our son was going through and allowed him to open up and talk through some of his challenges with school and some of the common issues teens face today!
★★★★★Dr. Yen has been the primary clinician working with my son. Through his transparency and honesty my son and I have developed a trusting bond. Dr. Yen possess a unique ability to connect with individuals on their level. His approach to therapy made him a perfect fit for my son and I. As a parent it was helpful that he possessed the ability to highlight both the desires of my son and myself. Dr. Yen helped us find peace and helped us to rebuild a damaged relationship. I recommend Dr. Yen to all who seek support, guidance, and understanding of all relationships in life.
★★★★★Dr. Yen is wonderful! He helped our family in so many ways. With his help my husband and I have learned how to communicate better with each other. Our children have learned how to talk to one another and respect each other’s feelings. Individually, he has helped each of us express our feelings and become better people. Mental health is essential for both happiness and health. Thank you, Dr. Yen!!
★★★★★I have nothing but great things to say about having Tim as my therapist. As a female, I was hesitant to work with a male psychologist but I'm glad that I took the chance to do so. Tim is unlike any therapist I have worked with. He is more relatable and someone who is easy to talk to. He has a more outgoing personality and doesn't just listen. Having a therapist who just listens works well when needed, but I was looking for someone who would push me to think differently and challenge me to make changes and grow as a person. Tim gave me homework and always had ideas on how I could try to change or look at things differently. He has great insight, is kind and is organized in terms of scheduling, email responses, sending superbills etc. I recommend Tim to those looking to make a positive change in their lives. Thanks Tim!
★★★★★He has helped me tremendously!!! I have become a different person because of him. He is one of the friendliest people I have ever met. He has helped me with my romantic relationships, platonic relationships, my mindset and ways of thinking, my plans after college and how to love myself!!
★★★★★Dr Yen has been instrumental to my personal growth through the past year. He has helped me see a different perspective in my life’s obstacles and I am very grateful to have gone through our sessions together. As a life coach, he was supportive, professional, caring and down to earth. I would highly recommend him to anyone who needs help.
Our clinicians work with students from these schools and more.
Premium, coordinated care built around one family's needs. Most of our clinicians are accepting new clients right now.
Tell us what's happening. We find the right starting point.
We look past the symptoms to the whole person and family.
We add services only when they help.
Care changes as your family's needs do.
Many PPO plans pay part of the cost. Our billing partner, Thrizer, files the claims with your insurance for you.

Real talk on psychology, identity, and showing up, from Dr. Timothy Yen of Pivot Counseling. Follow us on all major platforms for mental health tips based on the Choose Better Framework.