Leaving home is a lot. You don't have to work it out alone.

Therapy for teens and young adults who are moving out, starting over or working out what comes next. What you say stays between you and your therapist, within the limits the law sets.

Book a session What stays between us

Misty blue light breaks through dark trees over a forest road

A practice built on presence

I'm Audra Rafferty, a licensed marriage and family therapist in San Francisco. I work with teens, young adults and the families around them, most often when someone is about to move out, move back, or start something new.

My sessions are slow on purpose. You choose what we talk about, I ask before I suggest anything, and I explain how I work before we begin. I draw on family systems and cognitive behavioral approaches, and the relationship between us comes first.

Parents and guardians get their own time with me. What a teen says in their sessions stays private, within the limits explained on the page What stays between us.

Licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California

A double-height living room with a large sectional sofa and tall windows at dusk

The path forward

Growing up isn't a straight line, and neither is therapy. We make room for detours, pauses and the things you didn't expect to say.

Curiosity
We start with what you notice, not what you should fix.
Embodiment
Your body is part of the conversation. We pay attention to it.
Integration
We carry what comes up in sessions into the rest of your week.

“Nobody told me what I was supposed to want. She asked what I wanted to talk about, and then she waited.”

Brisa B.

Sample reviews.

How we can work together

Sessions for you, for your family, or for the parents and guardians who are helping from the side.

Teen and young adult therapy

Ages 13 to 25

One-on-one sessions for working out what you want, how you feel about the changes ahead, and how to talk to the people around you. You choose what we talk about.

Leather armchairs and a sofa under a lit table lamp against a wood-panelled wall

Family sessions

Together

Sessions with a parent, sibling or guardian, when the teen wants them there. We agree on ground rules first, then work on how the family talks through a big change.

A round table with a wooden tray, a cup and a vase of greenery beside a white chair

Parent sessions

For parents

Time for parents and guardians to ask questions and plan, held apart from a teen's own sessions. What a teen says in theirs stays private, within the limits the law sets.

A dark green sofa and cushion by sheer curtains in golden light

Leaving home

Transitions

Moving out, starting college or a first job, or coming back to live with family. We talk through what is changing, what you want, and how to keep the people who matter in the picture.

A small notepad and pen in front of a maroon mug on a grey table

Life transitions

Change

A new school, a new city, a breakup, a loss in the family. We take the change one piece at a time.

A grey armchair with a cushion by a curtained window in a dark green room

If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), any time. In an emergency, call 911.

YOUR PATH

From first message to your own pace

A clear, gentle way in, designed to feel natural, not clinical.

01
Step 1: Write to us
Send a message with how it is safe to reach you. We reply on weekdays and suggest a time for a first session.
02
Step 2: Your first session
A conversation, not a test. You say what you want from therapy, and your clinician explains how she works and what stays private.
03
Step 3: Finding a rhythm
You and your clinician set how often to meet. There is no set number of sessions, and you can change the plan as life changes.
04
Step 4: Spacing out
When you feel steadier, sessions can get further apart. The door stays open if you want to come back.

What clients say

“The room is quiet and the chairs are soft. Nobody rushed me.”
Yichen L.
“My mom had her own time with Audra, and mine stayed mine. She explained what would and wouldn't be shared before we started.”
Candy P.
“I moved out in August. Sessions were the one place that week where I didn't have to have a plan.”
Ahmed C.
“She told me the limits of privacy on day one, in plain words. I appreciated that.”
Idris K.
“I picked the time and I picked what we talked about. Video from my own room worked for me.”
Aaron M.

“The room is quiet and the chairs are soft. Nobody rushed me.”
Yichen L.
“My mom had her own time with Audra, and mine stayed mine. She explained what would and wouldn't be shared before we started.”
Candy P.
“I moved out in August. Sessions were the one place that week where I didn't have to have a plan.”
Ahmed C.
“She told me the limits of privacy on day one, in plain words. I appreciated that.”
Idris K.
“I picked the time and I picked what we talked about. Video from my own room worked for me.”
Aaron M.