Therapists

Claudia Vernon has been a Mental Health Therapist at Coastline since the department’s inception in January of 2019. Claudia earned her B.A. in Social Work from Cal State University Long Beach and an M.A. in Social Work from Barry University, Florida with an emphasis in trauma-informed clinical practice. She has been practicing as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (L.C.S.W.) for approximately 20 years. Claudia has also provided clinical supervision to countless graduate student interns and post graduate associates in the mental health field for over 15 years.

Claudia offers a breadth of knowledge to Coastline’s Student Mental Health Services as she has had experience working in multiple settings with all age groups. She had begun her professional career in social services working with children who had experienced abuse - and their families. Her career path has led her through Community Mental Health agencies as well as private higher education institutions.

Day to day, Claudia reaches out to students about mental well-being and presents mental health informed webinars. She sees students individually and in groups. Additionally, Claudia oversees many of the administrative tasks of Student Mental Health Services and provides clinical supervision and consultation to mental health associate and intern therapists at Coastline.

She loves working with college students - no matter what age - because she gets to be part of a transformative time in people's lives. She enjoys helping students become a more wonderful version of themselves, transforming from chrysalis to butterfly.

Ms. Hurst comes to Coastline's Mental Health Counceling with a B.A. in Psychology, a M.A. in Counseling, and an APCC (BBS Registered Associate Professional Clinical Counselor). She also belongs to the CA Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (CALPCC).

Since 2011 Ms. Hurst has worked with students of all ages and their families in a Cognitive-Educational Therapy setting, providing assessment, consultation, intervention and case management, as well as being a part of an IEP team. She also provided counseling services to at-risk youth (ages 5-18) in an outpatient clinic based setting.

Justin is passionate about getting to know people and assisting them in forming their identity through self-discovery and reflective processing. Whether through storytelling, asking questions, or use of analogies, Justin loves to bring new perspective into people’s lives to better understand the different backgrounds each person comes from and guide them towards the various dreams they are striving towards.

While Justin loves to celebrate the exciting victories this world offers, he also understands that life comes with many challenges and confusions and also enjoys sitting in these moments with others. Justin believes that when we face difficult situations and words escape us, human connection and patient conversation can provide a space for healing to begin.

Over the years, Justin has had many amazing mentors, teachers, and supervisors who have trained him in the art of actively listening and comforting others. Justin has studied psychology, counseling, and music at Cal Baptist University and enjoys cultivating these different passions together to foster a welcoming environment of connection for those he meets with. Justin has loved his experience of working with youth and college students as he has been able to walk alongside this population in a time of life that is fraught with change, but still offers extensive opportunities for growth.

Alexandra (Alex) Concepcion, is a bilingual (English-Spanish) Licensed Marriage Family Therapist with an extensive background in multicultural therapy and student services. Alex is a second-generation immigrant and the first in her family to attend college. Her personal experience, clinical background, and connection to the community college system allows Alex to have compassion, empathy, and personal understanding of the unique experiences of students of all backgrounds and life challenges.

Alex earned an AA degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences in 2006 and transferred to the University of California, Irvine where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior. While attaining her AA and BA degrees she worked in different roles of Student Services for programs including EOPS, CalWORKs, DSPS, and Continuing Education. Alex Obtained her MA in Counseling Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage Family Therapy from National University in 2016.

Alex has 8 years of experience in mental health services addressing a wide range of mental health/relational issues. She has acquired extensive experience working with marginalized communities/individuals including trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, substance, intergenerational/immigration family issues, people living with HIV, and more. Alex approaches individual and family issues from an integrative multicultural client-centered approach to create a therapeutic alliance that facilitates a interpersonal restorative process that can lead to change and personal growth.

24/7 TimelyCare Virtual Clinic

Coastline College offers free 24/7 virtual health and wellbeing services through TimelyCare.

TimelyCare provides options to students seeking evening or weekend appointments, located out of state, needing bilingual therapy, and/or desiring providers that reflect the students' backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

Learn more at Health Services | TimelyCare.