ABOUT US
Julie Trim, PhD
Founder & Clinical Director
Dr. Julie Trim provides compassionate, evidence-based treatment for a variety of problems including eating disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder (BPD)/emotion dysregulation. She has 15 years of treating eating disorders at the residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), and outpatient levels of care. Dr. Trim developed the UCSD Adult Eating Disorders Program in 2009 and subsequently served as Director. In addition to seeing clients, Dr. Trim provides ongoing supervision and consultation to colleagues, publishes in scientific journals, and participates in cutting-edge clinical research. Dr. Trim has served as a therapist on several randomized clinical trials of psilocybin since 2020 for conditions such as treatment-resistant depression (TRD), anorexia nervosa, and phantom limb pain.
Dr. Trim is a firm believer in evidence-based treatment. Intensively trained by DBT experts, Dr. Trim is one of four psychologists in San Diego to achieve certification in DBT by the Linehan Board of Certification. She draws heavily from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) when working with depression and anxiety, and blends in DBT skills when appropriate. Additionally, Dr. Trim has formal training and experience in two evidence-based treatments for PTSD-- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE).
Outside of work, Dr. Trim loves being outdoors (at the beach or on a hike), playing games with friends or her kids, dancing (well, mostly having dance parties at home :)), going to coffee shops, and curling up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. She describes herself as an extraverted introvert or an introverted extravert, depending on the day. She consider this the best of both worlds, as she cherishes the time she has to herself, AND values relationships above everything else.
Carolyn Clarke, PsyD
Psychological Associate
# 94026872
Dr. Carolyn Clarke is a Psychological Associate working under the clinical supervision of Dr. Trim (PSY# 22814). Dr. Clarke has had an interest in mental health and wellness for over 20 years. Her first career centered around teaching yoga and mindfulness to children. After becoming a certified yoga instructor for children, she went on to own and operate a children’s yoga studio and publish a book series on yoga and mindfulness for children.
In 2017, Dr. Clarke decided to pursue a career as a psychologist to help clients achieve wellness more directly and to work with adolescents, young adolescents, and adults. She explored the topic of mindfulness, self-compassion, and stress for her dissertation, and maintained a strong interest in mindfulness in the various clinical settings in which she trained. In her first clinical placement, she received training in couples counseling at the Alliant Couple and Family Clinic. She realized her love for working with college students at the University of San Diego (USD) College Counseling Center, where she focused on stress management and anxiety. Soon after, Dr. Clarke received intensive training in eating disorders at UCSD Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research (CHEAR), treating a wide range of eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, avoidant-restrictive feeding intake disorder (ARFID), and binge eating disorder) at the outpatient, intensive outpatient (IOP), and partial hospitalization (PHP) levels of care. Most recently, Dr. Clarke completed an APA-accredited doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology at the University of San Francisco Counseling and Psychological Services (USF-CAPS), where she provided multicultural integrative therapy to students for a variety of mental health needs, including depression, anxiety, OCD, disordered eating, and relationship issues.
Dr. Clarke received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Alliant University in 2022. Her various clinical experiences led to her integrative approach to therapy using self-compassion, mindfulness, and behavioral evidence-based practices like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She believes in meeting clients where they are at with compassion, kindness, and a sense of humor to help them meet their therapy goals, gain insight, and increase self-compassion.
When she isn’t meeting with clients, you can probably find Dr. Clarke at the beach soaking up the San Diego sunshine. She enjoys cooking new recipes, reading a good book, and learning how to watercolor paint. She loves learning about anything French, and she hopes to be fluent one day!
Sasha Faust, PsyD
Psychological Associate
#94027039
Dr. Sasha Faust is a Psychological Associate working under the clinical supervision of Dr. Trim (PSY# 22814). She is a queer-identified, white, cis-gendered female with training and experience working with a wide range of clients. Dr. Faust received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Alliant University in 2021. She has previously worked at a crisis center, UC San Diego Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research, Rady’s Children’s Hospital’s medical behavioral unit, the University of San Diego’s counseling center, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, counseling and psychological services. Dr. Faust approaches psychology from an integrative perspective, incorporating psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). She has experience working with individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, ages, religious and spiritual beliefs, and physical and psychological disabilities. Dr. Faust believes that we all possess exceptional talents that enhance the potential to contribute to others and add meaningfully to our own sense of purpose. Dr. Faust a has a passion for working with folx and fostering a safe, healing space where clients can feel seen, heard, supported, and validated. She is in this with you.
Dr. Faust's clinical interests include trauma, alcohol and other drug use, sexual abuse survivors, eating disorders, identity exploration, the experience and process around coming out, spirituality, codependency, intimate partner violence, and interpersonal concerns.
Outside of work, Dr. Faust loves spending time with her 8-lb puppy, meditating, and cooking some yummy vegan meals. Dr. Faust is also very interested in the power of spiritual healing and is in the process of pursuing her certification in reiki energy healing.
Mell Giegerich, LCSW
Mellissa (Mell) Giegerich is a licensed clinical social worker with specialized training and experience working with an impressive range of client populations. Prior to joining our clinic, she worked at the UCSD Eating Disorders Center, where she provided treatment to adults in the intensive outpatient (IOP) and partial hospitalization (PHP) program. Before that, she completed a fellowship at the department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where she was formally trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. Mell has also worked with substance use disorders (pulling from SMART recovery principles), individuals on the autism spectrum, and adolescents and young adults. Finally, Mell is passionate about sports psychology and working with athletes, as she was former collegiate athlete herself. She loves helping athletes work through the unique challenges of being an athlete (e.g., issues related to identity, exercise dependency and compulsive exercise, etc).
Mell draws from evidence-based therapies including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). Her empathetic and nonjudgmental approach fosters an environment in which clients feel confident they can learn the skills needed to improve their wellbeing.
Outside of work, you will find Mell spending time with friends, at the beach, rollerblading, and cuddling with her beloved cat, Stella! As someone who loves hiking and nature, one of her life goals is to visit all the national parks within the US. She fully embraces living in southern California and tries to get outside at any opportunity!