Therapy in Burbank, CA for Burnout, Anxiety, and Insomnia

I'm Yael Eiserike, a licensed clinical social worker, and my practice is based in Burbank, California. I see people by secure video for burnout, anxiety, insomnia, and the kind of depression that doesn't get in the way of your work, which is exactly why it's so easy to miss. You can meet with me from home or from any room where you can talk privately, and nobody has to drive anywhere.

I should say up front that I used to be a lawyer. I went to law school, passed the California Bar, and practiced employment defense litigation before I retrained as a therapist. Plenty of my clients are attorneys and plenty aren't. What they tend to have in common is that other people would describe them as doing fine.

What it can look like when something is off

It's rarely dramatic. For most of my clients, burnout looks like getting everything done and feeling nothing about it, or noticing that Sunday afternoon now has a dread to it. Anxiety can look like rereading an email four times before you send it, or replaying a conversation at 2:00 a.m. in search of the mistake you're sure you've made. Insomnia can be a mind that starts working the moment your head hits the pillow. And depression doesn't always look like sadness. Sometimes it's a flat, low-grade numbness while everything on paper is fine.

If any of that sounds familiar, each one has its own page where I go into more detail: burnout, high-functioning anxiety, CBT-I for insomnia, and high-functioning depression. If racing thoughts at bedtime are the problem, I wrote a post about why your brain won't shut off at night.

How I work

My approach is practical, a bit like exercise. It works when it's consistent and when it's built for you. I use cognitive behavioral therapy as the foundation, which means our sessions have a direction, we work on things between sessions as well as during them, and you leave with something you can try on a Tuesday afternoon instead of a nice conversation you've forgotten by Thursday.

The specific tools depend on what we're dealing with. For chronic insomnia I use CBT-I, a structured treatment that helps line up your sleep need with your opportunity and ability to sleep. For anxiety I use exposure-based work, and for depression I lean on behavioral activation, since engagement tends to come before your mood improves, not after. Plenty of people arrive unsure whether what they have is burnout or depression, and it's often some of both, so sorting that out is part of the first few sessions. I'll be straight with you, and when something isn't serving you I'll say so, with warmth. You can read more about my style on my about page.

If you live in Burbank or nearby

I work with people located anywhere in California, including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley, and the rest of Los Angeles County. My practice address is 3500 W Olive Ave, Suite 300, Burbank, CA 91505, but it's an address, not a waiting room. Every session is on video, and I don't offer in-person appointments. If in-person care is what you need, I'd rather you know that now.

If you'd like to know how online therapy works day to day, I cover it on my page about online therapy in California. I'm also licensed in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, so if you're traveling to one of those places, we can keep meeting as long as you're in California, D.C., or Virginia when we do.

Fees and scheduling

I'm not in-network with any insurance company, but I can give you a superbill to submit for out-of-network reimbursement. I'd rather talk through fees by phone. You can pay with an HSA, debit, or credit card, and I offer flexible scheduling. Sessions are available in English and Spanish.

A few questions people ask