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Jewish therapist in Encino

I'm Dr. Jené Verchick, a Jewish psychologist with over 26 years of experience. I work with adults, teens, and couples in Encino and throughout the San Fernando Valley via secure video sessions.

Encino has one of the largest Jewish communities in the Valley — and with that comes a specific kind of pressure. The family dinners where everyone has an opinion about your life. The expectation to stay close, stay successful, and stay quiet about anything that doesn't look right. The guilt that follows you into every decision you make that isn't exactly what your parents planned for you.

If you need a therapist who already understands that world, you've found one.

How I Work

I'm active and direct. I don't sit quietly while you talk around the real issue. When I see the pattern — the people-pleasing, the guilt-driven decisions, the way you've been managing everyone else's feelings at the expense of your own — I name it. And I help you do something different.

With couples, I interrupt the dynamic in real time. With individuals, I push past the performance. With teens, I'm honest with them in a way that earns their trust instead of their resistance.

If you've had therapy before that felt polite but pointless, this will feel different.

Who I Work With

Couples. The Valley has its own version of relationship pressure — demanding careers, long commutes, kids in every activity, extended family ten minutes away with opinions about everything. I work with couples on communication breakdowns, emotional distance, betrayal, enmeshment with in-laws, and the slow erosion that happens when the marriage becomes the last priority.  See my Encino couples therapy page.

Individuals. Anxiety, depression, burnout, grief, divorce, trauma, identity. The high-functioning kind where nobody can see how much you're struggling because you've gotten too good at holding it together. Learn more about individual therapy.

Teens. Anxiety, depression, school pressure, social media, identity, family conflict. I hold a Master's degree in Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapy from USC. Encino teens face intense academic and family pressure — I help them figure out who they are underneath all the expectations. .

Families. Divorce, blended families, enmeshment, sibling conflict, caregiving for aging parents. When the whole system is stuck, not just one person. Learn more about family therapy.

What Being a Jewish Therapist in Encino Means

Encino's Jewish community is multigenerational, close-knit, and deeply family-oriented. That's beautiful — and it's also where the pressure comes from:

• The expectation to marry Jewish, raise Jewish children, and stay close to home

• Parents who can't tell the difference between involvement and control

• The guilt of wanting a life that looks different from what your family envisioned

• The pressure to be successful in ways that are visible — the house, the car, the school your kids attend

• The generational anxiety that gets passed down as "caring" but lands as suffocation

• Keeping up appearances at shul, at school events, at Shabbat dinner — while privately falling apart

I'm culturally Jewish. I understand all of this from the inside. I don't incorporate religious practice into therapy, but the cultural understanding is woven into everything I do. You don't need to explain the weight. I already carry it.

What Clients Say

"My mother calls three times a day. My husband says it's too much. My mother says he doesn't understand our family. I was stuck in the middle, drowning in guilt no matter which way I turned. Dr. Verchick didn't tell me to cut off my mother. She helped me figure out how to love her and protect my marriage at the same time. I didn't think that was possible." — Encino

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"I'm a partner at a law firm and nobody at work would ever guess I'm depressed. I perform all day, come home, and collapse. Dr. Verchick understood that high-functioning depression is its own kind of prison — you can't ask for help because everyone thinks you're fine. She helped me stop performing and start feeling again." — Encino

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"Our son was having panic attacks before school and we were making it worse without realizing it. Every Jewish parent thinks more involvement is the answer. Dr. Verchick helped us see that our anxiety was feeding his. She worked with him individually and then coached us on how to step back without abandoning him. He's a different kid now." — Parents, Encino

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"We're an interfaith couple in a very Jewish neighborhood. My family accepted him. His family tolerated me. The tension was constant and we pretended it wasn't there. Dr. Verchick helped us stop pretending and start building our own family culture — one that doesn't require either of us to disappear." — Couple, Encino

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be Jewish to work with you?

No. Many of my clients are Jewish, but not all. What matters is that my approach — active, direct, engaged — is the right fit for you.

 

I go to Valley Beth Shalom. Will you know anyone there? No. I have no affiliation with any Encino congregations. I'm not in your social circle, your kids' school community, or your shul. That distance is what makes it safe to be completely honest.

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My family is very involved in my life. Can therapy help me set boundaries without losing them?

Yes. This is one of the most common things I work on with Encino clients. Boundaries in a close Jewish family feel like betrayal — but they don't have to be. I help you protect your marriage, your mental health, and your autonomy without blowing up the family relationships that matter to you.

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Do you work with interfaith couples?

Yes. Holiday conflicts, family acceptance, raising children across traditions. It's one of my specialties. Learn more on my interfaith couples therapy page.