Who are the Best Career Counselors in Los Angeles?
Feeling unfulfilled in your career can be disorienting, especially when you’ve done everything “right.” You’ve worked hard, pushed through, and met expectations, but something still feels off. Maybe you're waking up with a sense of dread, feeling emotionally exhausted, or wondering whether the path you're on still fits who you are or who you want to be.
Career transitions, burnout, and identity shifts can leave even the most accomplished people feeling stuck and alone. The pressure to perform, to keep it all together, or to stay grateful for what you have often makes it hard to even admit you're struggling.
At Annia Raja PhD Therapy, we’re a team of career counselors in Los Angeles who work with high achievers—physicians, executives, entrepreneurs, and other professionals—who are navigating these quiet but significant internal turning points. Our goal is to help you make sense of what’s no longer working and begin moving toward a career that feels more aligned, meaningful, and sustainable.
7 highly recommended Los Angeles career counselors
Annia Raja, PhD
My work is grounded in the belief that your professional challenges are rarely just about the job—they’re often tied to long-standing patterns, internal narratives, and the roles you’ve learned to play in order to succeed. As a psychodynamic therapist, I create a space where we can slow down, look inward, and understand how your past experiences and relationships may be shaping your present struggles with work, identity, and self-worth.
Rather than offering “quick solutions” or surface-level advice, I help clients uncover the unconscious dynamics that keep them stuck in cycles of burnout, overachievement, or self-doubt. From there, we build insight, emotional flexibility, and a more compassionate relationship with yourself so your career choices can come from a place of clarity, not just obligation or fear.
Credentials: PhD in Clinical Psychology (California license #32699 | Texas license #37973)
Clientele: High achievers, physicians, executives, and business professionals
Location: 3019 Ocean Park Blvd, Suite 630, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Virtual therapy: Yes
Chaim Rochester, PhD
Chaim brings a powerful combination of clinical training and firsthand experience in the corporate and consulting world. His background in executive coaching allows him to understand the high-pressure environments his clients operate in—and the emotional cost that can come with sustained success.
Chaim works with leaders, founders, and high-performers who are starting to question whether their drive and accomplishments are still aligned with who they are. His approach is thoughtful, grounded, and insight-oriented—helping clients make sense of the tension between ambition and authenticity, and move toward a version of success that actually feels fulfilling.
Credentials: Registered Psychological Associate (CA #PSB 94027730) | Supervised by Annia Raja, PhD
Clientele: Leaders, executives, and high performers
Location: 3019 Ocean Park Blvd, Suite 630, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Virtual therapy: Yes
Chris Lambert, ALMT
Chris has extensive experience working with high-performing clients–executives, doctors, consultants, tech professionals, and more–who struggle with the costs of achievement. Chris brings a lived understanding of what it means to shift direction after years in a different career. As a former professional musician, he knows firsthand what it’s like to feel stuck in something that no longer fits—and the uncertainty that comes with choosing a new path.
Chris works with adults who feel disconnected from their work or unsure of what’s next. His approach is thoughtful and compassionate, helping clients reconnect with their values, clarify what feels meaningful, and move toward a more authentic professional life.
Credentials: Associate Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist | Supervised by Annia Raja, PhD, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (NY), Board-Certified Music Therapist
Clientele: Adults feeling stuck in careers + in life, struggling with personal and professional relationships, or lacking connection.
Location: 3019 Ocean Park Blvd, Suite 630, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Virtual therapy: Yes
If you’re curious about what a more aligned professional life could look like, we’d be happy to connect and explore whether one of the career counselors at Annia Raja PhD Therapy might be the right fit for you. And because therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all, I’ve also included a list of other trusted career counselors in Los Angeles who may be a better match depending on your needs.
Other career counselors in Los Angeles
Jon‑Paul Bird, LMFT
Jon-Paul specializes in supporting professionals of color struggling with career identity, anxiety, or creative blocks. His psychotherapeutic approach combines culturally informed care with career exploration, and he offers powerful support around racial identity and the nuanced dynamics of working within systems that may not reflect your lived experience. If you’re looking for a career coach in Los Angeles who specializes in career counseling for professionals of color, Jon-Paul is an excellent choice.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (License #100116)
Clientele: BIPOC professionals, couples, men
Location: Sherman Oaks, CA
Virtual therapy: Yes
Erisa Nishizawa, LMFT
Erisa works primarily with young adults and early-career professionals who are navigating transitions, anxiety, and uncertainty about their career direction. She blends mindfulness, insight, and structured planning to help clients clarify their values and build careers that feel aligned.
Unlike the work at Annia Raja Ph.D Therapy, which tends to focus on executives and medical professionals and goes deeper into long-standing patterns of burnout, Erisa provides grounded support for those still figuring out who they want to be professionally. If you’re just starting in your career and struggling, Erisa might be the best career coach in Los Angeles for you.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (License #135808)
Clientele: College students, young adults, early-career professionals
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Virtual therapy: Yes
Christy Merriner, LMFT
While our team at Annia Raja Ph.D Therapy focuses on career counseling for professionals navigating burnout, identity shifts, and high-performance pressure, Christy specializes in working with musicians, creatives, artists, and soul-seekers who are looking to align their careers with a deeper sense of meaning and authenticity.
Her work as a career counselor in Los Angeles may be especially resonant for clients in creative fields who want support navigating self-doubt, artistic transitions, or the emotional complexity of pursuing passion-driven work.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (License #117143)
Clientele: Creatives, artists, musicians, writers, actors
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Virtual sessions: Yes
Samer Fawaz, LMFT
If your career lives in the spotlight—or just behind it—Samer brings a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and the emotional toll it can take. He offers therapy and career counseling in Los Angeles specifically for entertainment professionals, including actors, agents, producers, and creatives navigating the high-stakes world of visibility, rejection, and identity.
Unlike the work we do at Annia Raja Ph.D Therapy, which focuses on professionals in healthcare, tech, and corporate settings, Samer draws from firsthand industry experience to support clients managing the unique pressures of creative careers. His approach blends insight-oriented therapy with practical coaching for those whose work lives at the intersection of art, ambition, and vulnerability.
Credentials: Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (License #149147)
Clientele: Entertainment professionals, entrepreneurs, and LGBTQ+ individuals
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Virtual therapy: Yes
FAQs about career counseling
-
Career coaching tends to focus on practical strategies, like setting goals, refining your résumé, or preparing for interviews. These tools can be helpful, especially when you’re clear on your direction.
Career counseling, on the other hand, explores the deeper emotional and psychological patterns that shape your relationship with work. If you’re dealing with burnout, chronic dissatisfaction, anxiety, or identity questions, counseling helps uncover why you feel stuck, not just what to do next.
-
You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy. If you feel unfulfilled, disconnected from your work and/or life, or unsure of what you want next—but can’t seem to make a change—career counseling can help. It’s also a good fit if work stress is affecting your mental health, relationships, or sense of self, or if you find yourself repeating patterns that leave you feeling depleted, even in roles you once loved.
-
At Annia Raja PhD Therapy, we work with professionals navigating a wide range of career challenges—including burnout, career transitions, workplace anxiety, imposter syndrome, and a loss of meaning or motivation in their work. Many of our clients are high achievers (especially doctors and professionals in high-pressure fields) who feel trapped by their success or disconnected from the values that once drove them. We also support clients in addressing workplace dynamics, boundary-setting, and the emotional toll of constantly being the one others depend on.
-
As a team, we share a depth-oriented, insight-driven approach to career counseling. Rather than offering surface-level fixes, we help clients explore how early experiences, unconscious beliefs, and relational patterns may be influencing your professional life. It’s not about “fixing what's wrong”; it’s about understanding the inner dynamics that shape your decisions, your drive, and how you define success. From that insight, we build a path that feels more intentional and grounded.
-
Therapy is a collaborative process. We’ll begin by exploring your current struggles and the broader context of your personal and professional life. Over time, we’ll uncover the patterns that may be contributing to your dissatisfaction, burnout, or whatever struggles are bringing you in. Our work creates space for reflection, emotional clarity, and new ways of relating to your career that are more sustainable and more aligned with who you are now.
-
Our work tends to resonate most with people who are curious about the why behind their patterns, not just looking for a checklist of next steps. If you’re a high achiever who’s feeling stuck, questioning your identity, or realizing that external success hasn’t brought internal fulfillment, we may be a strong match. The career counselors at Annia Raja Ph.D Therapy also bring particular insight into the emotional pressures of healthcare and other high-responsibility professions (e.g., executives, entrepreneurs, business owners, and more).
-
The first step is a free 15-minute consultation call where we can talk about what’s been coming up for you and whether my approach feels like the right fit. If we decide to move forward, we’ll begin meeting regularly—creating a space that’s consistent, supportive, and built around understanding and reshaping your relationship with work and self.