Aparna Bell, LPCC

Aparna Bell is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in California with 13 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, addiction, anger, low self-esteem, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, and other life changes. Aparna’s practice also addresses grief, trauma and abuse, parenting strain, career concerns, and mood disorders.

Her training includes a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from San Francisco State University. She has provided care in outpatient and residential dual diagnosis and recovery settings in the San Francisco area. That background informs how she helps people manage substance use alongside mood and anxiety symptoms.

Aparna uses a client-centered way of working, adding cognitive-behavioral tools to spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. She also draws on psychodynamic ideas to notice recurring patterns and underlying issues. Sessions focus on practical skills such as healthier boundaries, clearer communication, and coping techniques for strong emotions like anger.

When addressing addiction she supports both harm reduction and abstinence goals and works through resistance or ambivalence that can come up in recovery. She emphasizes identifying buried feelings like shame, depression, or trauma, and helps people move toward more useful habits.

Her style is direct and listening-focused. In sessions she reflects, asks questions to uncover patterns, and helps set concrete goals. To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule an initial session to set priorities.

How her approaches translate to online sessions