Pacific Coast Psychology

What Pacific Coast Psychology does

Pacific Coast Psychology is a veteran-owned private group psychology practice based in San Diego, California, operating from a physical office in Mission Valley West (2831 Camino Del Rio S., Suite #103) and delivering services statewide via telehealth. The practice is owned by Dr. Joanna R. Benavidez, Ph.D., a U.S. Air Force veteran and licensed clinical psychologist with nearly two decades of clinical experience, with Dr. Galina A. Buckhout, Psy.D., serving as a second provider. The firm is incorporated as a California professional corporation (Joanna R. Benavidez, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Inc.) with no external investment or parent entity identified. The practice offers a multi-modality service portfolio: outpatient psychotherapy using evidence-based modalities (CBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, Interpersonal Therapy, Supportive-Expressive Therapy, EMDR, Logotherapy, Pain Reprocessing Therapy); comprehensive psychological testing and assessment (intelligence, personality, cognitive, psychodiagnostic, and projective batteries); pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations for bariatric, spinal cord stimulator, and organ transplant procedures; forensic and medical-legal evaluations; FDA clinical trial psychiatric evaluations under contract with a biomedical company; and pro bono immigration evaluations (asylum, U-visa, T-visa, VAWA, waivers). Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer individual therapy via website, patient portal, and referrals; institutional contracted work with Scripps Mercy, Scripps Green, and Scripps Medical Group hospitals; and a community partnership with Southern Indian Health Council for Indigenous patient services. Revenue is generated through insurance billing (Medicare, United HealthCare/Optum/UMR, Aetna, Carelon, BCBS, Cigna/Evernorth, Health Net, MHN, TRICARE West), cash pay (a $200 flat fee for surgical evaluations), and contracted professional services for hospital systems and clinical trial sponsors. The practice is transitioning away from Medicare and TRICARE as of February 2025, narrowing its insurance panel. Marketing is organic and content-driven, anchored by the Clinical Corner blog, an Indigenous community resources page, and professional association leadership through the San Diego Psychological Association. The underlying technology is a conventional telehealth video platform plus the ClientSecure.me patient portal; no proprietary software product is documented.

Name

Pacific Coast Psychology

Legal name

Joanna R. Benavidez, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Inc.

Website

https://sdpsych.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pacific Coast Psychology is a veteran-owned private group psychology practice in San Diego, California, operated by two licensed psychologists providing outpatient psychotherapy, psychological testing, pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations, forensic evaluations, and pro bono immigration evaluations across California via telehealth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Outpatient Psychotherapy Services: Individual psychotherapy sessions billed to insurance or paid out-of-pocket. Accepts Medicare, United HealthCare, Aetna, Carelon, and cash pay.
2. Pre-Surgical Psychiatric Evaluations: Bariatric, Spinal Cord Stimulator, Organ Transplant and other surgical evaluations. Charged at $200 for cash patients; billed to insurance for covered patients.
3. Psychological Testing Services: Comprehensive psychological testing including intelligence, personality, cognitive, psychodiagnostic, and subjective testing batteries. Billed per assessment.
4. Forensic and Legal Evaluations: Conducting medical-legal psychiatric evaluations. Services may be billed to insurance, legal entities, or patients directly.
5. FDA Clinical Trial Psychiatric Evaluations: Contracted with a biomedical company to perform psychiatric evaluations for FDA clinical trials.
6. Pro Bono Immigration Evaluations: Free psychiatric evaluations provided for immigration cases including asylum, U-visa, T-visa, VAWA, I-601 waiver, and related evaluations. Provided at no cost to patients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pacific Coast Psychology is a Veteran-owned private group psychology practice delivering outpatient psychotherapy (CBT, EMDR, IPT, SET, Logotherapy, Pain Reprocessing Therapy), comprehensive psychological testing and assessment, and pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations (bariatric, spinal cord stimulator, organ transplant) for patients across California via in-person and telehealth. The practice also performs forensic evaluations, FDA clinical trial psychiatric evaluations, and pro bono immigration evaluations, with contracted partnerships with Scripps hospitals and the Southern Indian Health Council.

Product overview

Pacific Coast Psychology is a Veteran-owned psychology practice in San Diego, California, offering a comprehensive range of mental health services. The practice operates primarily as a service-based business rather than a software product company, providing psychiatric diagnostic evaluations for surgery (Bariatric, Spinal, SCS, Organ Transplant), psychological testing (intelligence, personality, cognitive, psychodiagnostic, and subjective testing), psychotherapy using evidence-based approaches (CBT, EMDR, IPT, Pain Reprocessing Therapy), pro bono immigration psychiatric evaluations, telehealth services, and a free Pomodoro productivity tool. The practice is led by Dr. Joanna R. Benavidez and Dr. Galina A. Buckhout, serving patients throughout California via in-person and telehealth modalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Psychotherapy Services Evidence-based psychotherapy for adults and individuals, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Supportive-Expressive Therapy (SET), EMDR, Logotherapy, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT). Targets patients with PTSD, acute stress disorder, chronic illness-related psychiatric symptoms, depression, anxiety, and cross-cultural/acculturation issues. Delivered in-person and via telehealth statewide across California.
• Psychological Testing and Assessment Comprehensive psychological assessment services including intelligence testing (WAIS-IV, WISC-IV), personality testing (NEO-PI, MMPI-2, MCMI-IV), cognitive testing (MOCA, TMT, RBANS), psychodiagnostic testing (BSI, SCL90), and subjective testing (TAT, Rorschach, RISB, HTP). Used for diagnostic clarity, forensic purposes, and pre-surgical clearance.
• Pre-Surgical Psychiatric Evaluations Psychiatric diagnostic evaluations for surgical clearance, including Bariatric Surgery, Spinal Cord Stimulator Placement, Organ Transplants, and other medical procedures requiring psychological clearance. Contracted with Scripps Mercy Hospital, Scripps Green Hospital, and Scripps Medical Group/Hillcrest. Cash-pay fee of $200 if not covered by accepted insurance.
• Forensic and Medical-Legal Evaluations Medical-legal psychiatric evaluations for forensic purposes, including evaluations for legal proceedings and medical-legal clearance. Services may be billed to insurance, legal entities, or patients directly.
• FDA Clinical Trial Psychiatric Evaluations Psychiatric evaluations contracted with a biomedical company for FDA-regulated clinical trial participants. Delivered as part of clinical trial enrollment and protocol requirements.
• Pro Bono Immigration Psychiatric Evaluations Free psychiatric evaluations for immigration cases including asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture (CAT), U-visa, T-visa, VAWA evaluations, cancellation of removal, I-601/I-601A waivers, extreme hardship evaluations, immigration competency, and cognitive/neuropsychological evaluations. Provided at no cost to patients.
• Telehealth Services Virtual therapy and psychological support services delivered via video conferencing, enabling access to care throughout California for patients who cannot or prefer not to attend in-person sessions.
• Crisis Support Resources and Referrals Crisis intervention resources and referral pathway including connection to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline, ASL/Hard of Hearing Crisis Line, Crisis Text Line, and emergency room guidance, with Indigenous-specific resources such as texting 'NATIVE' to 741741.
• Free Pomodoro Counter Complimentary productivity timer tool based on the Pomodoro Technique, available for download on the practice website as a free tool for visitors and patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations contracted with major hospital systems (Scripps Mercy, Scripps Green, Scripps Hillcrest Medical Group).
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Scripps Mercy HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Benavidez has established a contracted partnership with Scripps Mercy Hospital in the San Diego region to provide pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations for patients undergoing various surgical procedures requiring psychological clearance. This is a key revenue and referral partnership for the practice.
• Scripps Green HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContracted partnership with Scripps Green Hospital to conduct pre-surgical psychiatric evaluations for surgical candidates. Complements the partnership with Scripps Mercy Hospital in providing evaluation services across the Scripps health system.
• Scripps Medical Group / Scripps HillcrestcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContracted with Scripps Medical Group to provide surgery evaluations to patients with coverage through Kaiser, Carrum, or Community Health Group (CHG). No copay for patients with this type of coverage. This channel provides a steady stream of surgical evaluation referrals.
• Southern Indian Health Council (SIHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Benavidez is currently contracted with Southern Indian Health Council to provide culturally-appropriate psychological assessment services to Indigenous patients. This partnership reflects the practice's commitment to serving Indigenous communities and aligns with the practice's land acknowledgment and Indigenous resource mission.
• Unnamed Biomedical Company (FDA Clinical Trials)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Benavidez is contracted with a biomedical company to perform psychiatric evaluations for FDA clinical trials. This partnership provides a specialized revenue stream and positions the practice within the clinical research ecosystem.
• San Diego Psychological Association (SDPA)minorOthersDr. Benavidez is a member of SDPA and serves as Chairman of the Contemplative Practices Committee. This membership provides professional credibility, networking, and referral opportunities within the local psychological community.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline / Crisis Text LineminorOthersThe practice prominently features the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Crisis Text Line (text 'NATIVE' to 741741), and other crisis resources on its website, particularly for Indigenous patients, serving as a referral pathway for patients in acute distress.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: Largest direct-to-consumer telehealth therapy platform in the U.S., operating in California — comparable on the online therapy delivery motion and direct-to-consumer acquisition, though as a mass-market subscription product rather than a clinician-led practice.
• Thriveworks: Large established outpatient mental health chain offering therapy, psychiatry, and counseling across the U.S. with insurance billing — comparable as a scaled outpatient mental health practice with insurance-based billing, though far larger and broader in scope.
• Talkspace: National telehealth therapy and psychiatry platform delivering outpatient mental health services across the U.S., including California — directly comparable on the telehealth therapy delivery model, though at vastly greater scale and with a tech-platform cost structure.

Emerging players

• Lyra Health: Mental health benefits platform offering therapy and psychiatry via employer contracts, with California-based clinician network — comparable on the therapy service delivery, with overlap in employer-channel and specialty therapy offerings.
• Cerebral: Telehealth platform delivering therapy and medication management for anxiety, depression, and ADHD across the U.S., including California — comparable on the telehealth outpatient mental health delivery model, though focused more on medication-assisted treatment.
• Brightside Health: Telehealth mental health provider delivering therapy and medication management across the U.S., with focus on depression and anxiety — comparable on the telehealth outpatient mental health model, though at a different scale and with a heavier psychiatry focus.
• Charlie Health: Virtual intensive outpatient and outpatient mental health provider for adolescents and young adults, operating in California and other states — comparable on the outpatient mental health delivery model and insurance billing, though focused on a younger, higher-acuity population.

Direct peers

• SonderMind: Network of licensed therapists delivering in-person and telehealth outpatient mental health services across multiple U.S. states — comparable to Pacific Coast Psychology's licensed-psychologist-led outpatient therapy and telehealth delivery model.
• Two Chairs: Outpatient group therapy practice operating multiple clinics in California with a focus on evidence-based therapy and matching clients to specialized therapists — directly comparable to Pacific Coast Psychology's in-person + therapy-led model and California footprint.
• Octave: Outpatient mental health group practice offering therapy, psychiatry, and couples counseling across multiple California locations, with insurance and cash-pay options — comparable as a multi-clinician California outpatient mental health practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pcpsychology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacific Coast Psychology