--- title: "Therapy for veterans & first responders · California telehealth · Joshua Acosta-Duque, LCSW" description: "Depth therapy for veterans and first responders across California — combat, non-combat, moral injury, and the transition back. Telehealth, EMDR-informed." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/#website", "name": "With Love Wellness Center", "url": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com", "inLanguage": [ "en", "es" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "MedicalClinic", "@id": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/#clinic", "name": "With Love Wellness Center", "url": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com", "medicalSpecialty": "Psychiatric", "areaServed": { "@type": "State", "name": "California" }, "availableService": [ "Anxiety therapy", "EMDR & trauma therapy", "Relationship therapy", "Men's therapy", "Substance use & recovery", "Life transitions & grief" ], "telephone": "", "priceRange": "$$", "provider": { "@id": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/#joshua" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/#joshua", "name": "Joshua Acosta-Duque, LCSW", "honorificSuffix": "LCSW", "jobTitle": "Licensed Clinical Social Worker", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/#clinic" }, "url": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/about", "knowsLanguage": [ "English", "Spanish" ], "hasCredential": { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "credentialCategory": "license", "name": "CA LCSW #121584", "recognizedBy": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "California Board of Behavioral Sciences" } } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Who I work with", "item": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/who-i-work-with" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Veterans therapy", "item": "https://withlovewellnesstherapy.com/who-i-work-with/veterans-therapy" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Are you a VA provider?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "I'm in private practice, not VA staff. Many veterans use Community Care Network authorizations to see me; check with your VA case manager about the current process." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do you only work with combat trauma?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Non-combat trauma, moral injury, MST, and the ordinary weight of the job all count. What matters is that we take what you carried seriously — not that it looks a certain way." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "I'm active duty, not a veteran. Can you still see me?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "If you're in California, yes. We work around the confidentiality and scheduling realities of your role." } } ] } ] --- [Skip to content](#main) [](/) [About](/about)[Approach](/approach) [Services](/services) [Who I work with](/who-i-work-with) [Insights](/insights)[Español](/es)[Contact](/contact) [Book a free call](/book) ![Two facing wooden armchairs with red upholstery in a warm sunlit sitting room](/assets/hero-who-WDcz5MAT.jpg) [Who I work with](/who-i-work-with)Veterans & first responders # For the people who did the job. You didn't come this far to be handed a worksheet. This is depth work — for what the training didn't cover. The context ## What I actually bring to this. Veterans and first responders end up in my office when the strategies that got them through the mission stop working in the rest of life. The switch that turned everything off during a shift doesn't turn back on at home. The sleep never really came back. The anger arrives sideways at people who don't deserve it. The person you were before the job is starting to feel like a stranger. I don't need you to prove your trauma is bad enough. I don't need you to cry on cue. I don't romanticize service, and I don't pathologize it either. Moral injury is real, non-combat wounds are real, the slow attrition of the job is real. So is the identity question underneath it all: who am I when I'm not doing this. EMDR is a large part of what I do here. It doesn't require you to retell the worst of it in detail; we prepare carefully first, and you stay in the driver's seat throughout. Sound familiar? ## You might recognize — - Sleep never fully came back after the deployment / the shift / the incident - You go from zero to ten and can't find the middle - You feel most like yourself around the people who did the job — and increasingly like a stranger at home - You can describe the memory calmly and still can't sit through a fireworks show - You did the VA groups, the worksheets, the check-the-box therapy — and you're still carrying it - Moral injury: the parts you can't just process, because they were about what was asked of you How we work ## The shape of it. EMDR for what the body still holds. Direct, unromanticized conversation for what the culture of the job doesn't let you say out loud. Parts work for the versions of you that had to specialize to survive — the operator, the medic, the on-scene commander, the guy who never comes home late — and don't quite know how to stand down. Telehealth means no waiting room, no risk of running into anyone you know, no drive home to shake off. From wherever you can shut a door for the hour. [Book your free 15-min call ](/contact) FAQ ## Questions people actually ask. Are you a VA provider? I'm in private practice, not VA staff. Many veterans use Community Care Network authorizations to see me; check with your VA case manager about the current process. Do you only work with combat trauma? No. Non-combat trauma, moral injury, MST, and the ordinary weight of the job all count. What matters is that we take what you carried seriously — not that it looks a certain way. I'm active duty, not a veteran. Can you still see me? If you're in California, yes. We work around the confidentiality and scheduling realities of your role. Services often relevant here ## Where this often overlaps . [ Specialization Trauma & PTSD EMDR-led reprocessing for what your body still remembers. Read more ](/services/trauma-ptsd-therapy)[ Specialization Men's issues For men who were taught to figure it out alone. Read more ](/services/mens-therapy)[ Depth work Substance use, recovery & codependency Trauma-informed depth work for codependency, intimacy patterns, and the shame recovery alone can't reach. Read more ](/services/substance-use-therapy) With Love Wellness Center Depth-oriented therapy across California. Sessions in English & Español. Telehealth-only practice. Begin [Book your free 15-min call](/contact) In a crisis or emergency, call or text [988](tel:988) or [911](tel:911). Services - [All services](/services) - [EMDR therapy](/services/emdr-therapy) - [Anxiety & chronic stress](/services/anxiety-therapy) - [Trauma & PTSD](/services/trauma-ptsd-therapy) - [Relationship & attachment patterns](/services/relationship-therapy) - [Depression](/services/depression-therapy) - [Substance use, recovery & codependency](/services/substance-use-therapy) - [Burnout & high-achiever therapy](/services/burnout-therapy) - [Life transitions](/services/life-transitions-therapy) - [Grief & loss](/services/grief-therapy) - [Men's issues](/services/mens-therapy) Who I work with - [Overview](/who-i-work-with) - [Latino/a/x adults](/who-i-work-with/latino-therapy) - [LGBTQ+ adults](/who-i-work-with/lgbtq-therapy) - [Veterans & first responders](/who-i-work-with/veterans-therapy) - [High achievers](/who-i-work-with/high-achievers) Serving California - [California online therapy](/california-online-therapy) - [Los Angeles](/california/los-angeles) - [Orange County](/california/orange-county) - [San Diego](/california/san-diego) - [San Francisco](/california/san-francisco) - [San Jose](/california/san-jose) - [Sacramento](/california/sacramento) Insights - [All insights](/insights) - [High-functioning anxiety](/insights/high-functioning-anxiety) - [When therapy didn't work](/insights/when-therapy-didnt-work) - [Are my problems bad enough?](/insights/are-my-problems-bad-enough) - [Perfectionism & anxiety](/insights/perfectionism-and-anxiety) - [Can't think your way out](/insights/why-you-cant-think-your-way-out) Practice - [About Joshua](/about) - [Approach](/approach) - [Rates & insurance](/rates) - [Reviews](/reviews) - [Contact](/contact) En Español - [Inicio](/es) - [Sobre mí](/es/sobre-mi) - [Terapia de ansiedad](/es/terapia-de-ansiedad) - [Terapia de trauma](/es/terapia-de-trauma) - [Contacto](/es/contacto) With Love Wellness Center · Telehealth across California · sessions in English & Español. Individual results vary; therapy outcomes are not guaranteed. This website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for clinical care. Website by [Automaus.ai](https://automaus.ai) © 2026 With Love Wellness Center · Joshua Acosta-Duque, LCSW · CA LCSW #121584