Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Cindy Morrin.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today?
I never imagined I’d become a mental health professional after a 25-year career in education. But looking back, I see now that the transition wasn’t a detour. It was a deep integration of purpose, healing, and growth. The shift has not only benefited my clients and students, but it has also transformed me.
After earning my Master’s degree in Counseling Education, I built a fulfilling career as a counselor, professor, and leader in San Diego’s high schools, community colleges, and graduate programs. I’ve been a tenured counseling professor at Cuyamaca College for nearly two decades, teaching courses in personal development, college success, and career planning. I’ve held a range of leadership roles including Curriculum Chair, Department Chair, and Career Center Coordinator. I’ve written grants and launched innovative programs to support dual enrollment for high school students and created online courses for incarcerated youth and first-generation college students. I also teach graduate students training to become guidance counselors at National University and have supported families and students as an independent college admissions consultant.
Despite a meaningful and successful career, I deferred my lifelong dream of earning a doctorate while raising my two sons. My eldest, Chase, a Harvard graduate, is now a professional musician and professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. My youngest, Cody, earned his degree from Columbia and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics at UC Irvine. Education has always come first in our family, and once they were firmly on their own paths, I knew it was finally time for me to pursue mine. Between the three of us, we’ve always been in school. Even more meaningfully, we are all educators.
In 2018, I began a doctoral program in Educational Leadership, envisioning a path in higher education administration. But after the pandemic, while navigating illness, chronic stress, and unhealed trauma, something deeper stirred. I rediscovered a dream I hadn’t dared to name: becoming a Clinical Psychologist. At a stage in life when many feel settled into their careers, I was carrying the weight of past wounds and the fear that it might be too late to start over. What I discovered instead was that my background in education and my passion for mental health weren’t separate paths. They belonged together. Through radical honesty, resilience, and the unwavering belief that it’s never too late to become who you’re meant to be, I took the leap and changed my life.
I was fortunate to take a sabbatical and reduce my teaching and counseling load to make space for this transformation. I recently defended my dissertation and earned my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in San Diego.
Today, I practice as a postdoctoral therapist at BrightMind Therapy in Pacific Beach, where I integrate all parts of my journey, my career in education, my personal healing, and my training in clinical psychology, to support others in theirs. I also continue to teach and counsel students at Cuyamaca College and National University, remaining deeply connected to the educational work that shaped my path.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all. The road has been anything but smooth, and in many ways, it was the struggles that led me to this integrated path of education and mental health. Even before the pandemic, I was beginning to feel the effects of poor work-life balance and ongoing demands that gradually wore down my well-being. I didn’t fully recognize how much this imbalance was affecting me until my sons left for college and my focus shifted more fully to my career. With that shift came a sense that something was missing. I had spent so many years pouring into others, and now I was being called to turn inward and ask myself who I was beyond the roles I had always filled.
I reached out to my college’s Employee Assistance Program and that one phone call marked a turning point. Therapy helped me begin to unpack a lifetime of unresolved childhood trauma. I recognized how much I had been living in survival mode, constantly putting others first, neglecting my own needs, and tying my worth to productivity and achievement.
Not long after beginning therapy, I was diagnosed with cancer, and soon after that, with systemic lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease I believe I had carried silently for years. I have come to believe that both diagnoses were connected to the chronic stress and cumulative childhood trauma I had stored in my body for decades. Emerging research continues to show strong links between trauma, prolonged stress, and physical illness. These insights fueled a radical shift in how I cared for myself. I realized that healing couldn’t be compartmentalized. It had to involve my whole being: body, mind, and spirit.
Then the pandemic hit. Everything came to a halt, forcing me to confront both my physical and mental health in ways I never had before. Today, I’m proud to say I am cancer-free. Although there is no cure for lupus, I receive excellent care from my medical team and live with a stabilized, manageable form of the disease. Through clean living, stress reduction, movement, and spiritual practices, I believe I can lead a full and vibrant life.
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc.? What are you most proud of?
Today, I’m a trauma-informed postdoctoral therapist at BrightMind Therapy, an educator at both Cuyamaca College and National University, and a lifelong learner devoted to healing and transformation. My experience in education is fully integrated into my clinical work, allowing me to support clients through a lens that honors both personal development and lifelong learning.
Whether in the classroom or the therapy room, I draw from both worlds to help people grow, heal, and thrive.
I work from the lens of the “wounded healer,” someone who has done her own deep inner work and now walks alongside others with compassion and purpose. I hold space for the hard stuff. I validate, I witness, and I help patients explore who they really are, beyond the roles they’ve played or the pain they’ve carried. My goal is to empower people to build a life worth living, one grounded in meaning, self-compassion, and purpose.
At BrightMind Therapy, I’ve had the privilege of training under a visionary clinical director who is a leader in both family-focused care for eating disorders and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Our practice specializes in Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for adolescents with eating disorders. We receive many of our referrals, as well as advanced training, through UC San Diego, where our director serves as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry. Rooted in clinical research, our approach blends evidence-based practices with emerging innovations in mental health care.
I also specialize in working with individuals and families impacted by substance use and addiction. As a fellow traveler, I understand the pain, shame, and cyclical nature of addiction. I offer a nonjudgmental, trauma-informed approach that meets people where they are. Whether my patients are in recovery, contemplating change, or supporting a loved one, I bring both clinical tools and lived empathy to the therapeutic relationship.
More recently, I’ve seen a sharp rise in the emotional and relational impact of screen time and social media addiction, especially among adolescents and young adults. The pressure to perform, compare, and stay constantly connected can fuel anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and self-esteem issues. I help clients build healthier digital boundaries, reconnect with their values, and reclaim their attention in an overstimulated world.
I have specialized training in trauma, Complex PTSD, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). I hold a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Research Foundation led by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, and I’m an intermediate-level student in Somatic Experiencing, developed by Dr. Peter Levine. I am also trained and skilled in evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and I integrate attachment work and mindfulness throughout my sessions.
In addition to my clinical work, I’m still deeply engaged in education. I teach personal development, trauma-informed counseling, and supervise graduate students preparing to enter the field as school and college counselors. Eventually, I want to supervise associate therapists as a licensed clinical psychologist. I’m passionate about helping the next generation of counselors and therapists.
Although I’m in my 50s now, I feel younger, more energized, and more aligned than ever. My patients often tell me they appreciate having an experienced therapist, someone who has lived a full life, who’s been a mom, a teacher, a patient, and a truth-seeker. I bring all of that into the room.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve brought together all the threads of my life’s work. I didn’t leave one career for another. I expanded and integrated them, and now I get to do the work I love every single day.
What is something surprising that most people who know you or your work might not know about you?
What might surprise people is how deeply my lifestyle now mirrors the healing work I offer, and how much I’ve transformed along the way. There was a time when I thought practices like meditation, breathwork, or Buddhist philosophy were too far out for me. I was rooted in structure, productivity, and performance. But once I truly committed to my own healing journey, I discovered how powerful these practices really are.
Now, I live what I once dismissed. I begin each morning with a hike from my front door up Mt. Helix to watch the sunrise. It’s a daily ritual that fills me with awe and reminds me to slow down and breathe. I’ve also become an avid birdwatcher, finding joy in spotting yellow finches, bluebirds, and even owls at night.
My home has become a peaceful sanctuary filled with fruit trees, blooming flowers, and a garden that nourishes my soul. I practice meditation twice a day, do daily yoga, and draw steady inspiration from Buddhist principles of mindfulness, compassion, and presence.
I also take weekly strength training and Pilates classes through the VEBA Resource Center, a hidden gem for San Diego educators offering holistic wellness programs. It’s become a meaningful part of my self-care routine.
Outside of work, I love to travel, whether I’m attending one of my son’s jazz performances on the East Coast or road-tripping through Yosemite or the Grand Canyon. I walk the beach whenever I can and explore trails all across San Diego. What I’ve come to understand is that healing isn’t just something we talk about in therapy. It’s something we choose to practice every single day, with intention, with curiosity, and with gratitude.
Dr. Cindy Morrin is accepting new patients.
You can find her at BrightMind Therapy in Pacific Beach. She also continues her work as a counselor and professor at Cuyamaca College in East County.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brightmindtherapy.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.morrin
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-morrin-58393015/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLC9j3IoN4
- Other: https://www.cuyamaca.edu/faculty-directory/cindy-morrin/
