Nikki Wendel
(she/her)
APCC #18220
Come as you are. Find support for where you want to go.
Nikki offers a warm, collaborative space where you can feel understood, show up authentically, and begin making sense of what feels overwhelming. As a mom herself, she brings a personal appreciation for the joys, demands, and identity shifts that can come with parenthood, while honoring that everyone’s experience is different. With a background in both mental health and educational counseling, she considers the whole picture—from emotions and relationships to learning, life transitions, and everyday stress. Her approach pairs meaningful exploration with practical tools to help you build confidence, connection, and greater trust in yourself.
Who Nikki Supports
Teens, Adults, Families
Current or Former Athletes
Neurodivergent Teens and Adults
Individuals during pregnancy and postpartum adjusting to emotional changes and new demands
Clients transitioning out of higher levels of care
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Anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm
Eating disorders and concerns around food and body image
Executive functioning difficulties and school challenges
Emotional regulation and coping skills
Identity development and feeling disconnected from yourself
Life transitions and relationship challenges
Prenatal and postpartum mental health
Substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns
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Warm and welcoming: A space where you can be yourself without fear of judgment.
Collaborative: Working together to identify what matters to you and build toward your goals.
Grounded in your strengths: Recognizing your resilience alongside the challenges you’re navigating.
Practical and meaningful: Connecting insight with tools you can use in everyday life.
Responsive to you: Meeting you where you are, with care that fits your personality, needs, and pace.
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Master’s in Educational Counseling
Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Former Education Director at an adolescent intensive outpatient program (IOP) and residential treatment center in Los Angeles
Experience supporting teens with complex mental health concerns, substance use, school difficulties, and family stress
Background collaborating with multidisciplinary treatment teams across levels of care
Clinical experience supporting adolescents and adults with a broad range of emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs
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Person-Centered Therapy: Centering your experiences, values, and goals throughout the therapeutic process.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Exploring connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to support meaningful change.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Building skills for emotional regulation, managing distress, mindfulness, and navigating relationships.
Strengths-Based Care: Helping you recognize and build on the abilities and resources you already have.
Whole-Person Perspective: Considering how learning, development, relationships, family systems, and your environment shape your wellbeing.
Connect with Nikki
Meet with Nikki
Telehealth throughout California and Virginia
the importance of meeting individuals where they are. Each person experiences, processes, and heals in their own unique way, and honoring that individuality is central to effective therapeutic work. I have also witnessed the incredible resilience people carry, often navigating and surviving circumstances that once felt unimaginable. Approaching my work from a place of compassion, empathy, and a deep belief in human resilience continues to shape the way I support and connect with clients today.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned through working with clients is…
Something about my life journey that influences my approach to therapy is…
My passion for mental health and advocacy began through my own experience navigating mental health challenges following a serious sports injury in college. The injury significantly impacted my identity, self-image, and motivation, and at the time, I found there were very limited resources available for support within the school setting. This experience also sparked my curiosity about the profound emotional impact that physical injuries can have on overall well-being. Through this journey, I developed a deep passion for supporting individuals struggling with motivation, body image, depression, anxiety, and trauma — areas that continue to be central to my clinical work today.
My self-care activities I do to unwind after a challenging day are…
My go-to forms of self-care include working out, going for walks with my dog, husband, and baby, and unwinding with a good psychological thriller either via book or show. Each of these outlets help me reset!
Meet Briggs!
Before I was a mom to a human baby, Briggs was my first (fur)baby! He is energetic, adventurous, loving and playful ! He loves the beach, hiking and of course, lots of rubs and treats! Briggs may hop on to say hi on our telehealth sessions!