Meet Camille Cooke | Licensed Clinical Social Worker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Camille Cooke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Camille, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risk, to me, is inherently connected to stepping outside of comfort. It is often where the most meaningful growth occurs, and also what people avoid in order to maintain the status quo. When we look back across the span of our lives, the risks we’ve taken often correlate with our greatest growth and fulfillment. At the same time, many of our closest relationships require vulnerability, which makes them inherently risky. Taking emotional risks means confronting the possibility of being hurt; avoiding them, however, often requires compromising parts of ourselves—something that can be far more painful and costly over time.

Clinically, I often see how staying silent and prioritizing the needs of others becomes a default coping strategy. While this can create a temporary sense of safety, it frequently comes at the expense of honesty, self-connection, and growth. Choosing emotional comfort over emotional truth may feel safer in the moment, but it often reinforces patterns of disconnection, resentment, and burnout. A question I often explore with clients is: which choice actually carries more long-term risk?

My own lived experience informs this perspective. I identify as someone who learned early to people-please and to equate emotional safety with minimizing conflict. For a long time, this felt like the less risky option. Over time, however, it became clear that avoiding discomfort was interfering with my growth and leading me to compromise my values. Remaining in jobs and relationships beyond their usefulness resulted in exhaustion, dissatisfaction, and a loss of self. That, too, was a risk—one I hadn’t fully recognized at the time.

This awareness led me to more intentionally identify my values and begin taking thoughtful, aligned risks. That process required tolerating uncertainty, preparing for conflict, and accepting the possibility of relational loss. It also required slowing down, increasing self-awareness, and learning to trust internal cues rather than defaulting to external approval. Through this work, I came to understand how universal these dynamics are and how often people need support to navigate them.

Building a private practice and committing to marriage have been among the most significant risks I’ve taken. While both involved uncertainty and vulnerability, they were also deeply values-aligned choices. Over the years, I’ve developed a nuanced understanding of risk-taking as a process that benefits from reflection, support, and intentionality. Meaningful change rarely comes from impulsivity or avoidance; it comes from supported risk—where context, attunement, and care are present.

This framework guides my clinical work. Therapy becomes a structured, supportive environment where clients can safely engage in emotional honesty, experiment with new relational patterns, and develop greater insight into themselves. By working with vulnerability rather than against it, clients are able to imagine and move toward lives and relationships that are more authentic, connected, and sustainable.

What should our readers know about your business?
My practice was built intentionally, with the same principles that guide my clinical work: thoughtfulness, integrity, and a deep respect for complexity. I specialize in relational work—supporting individuals and couples who feel stuck in familiar patterns and are ready to understand themselves and their relationships more deeply. What sets my practice apart is an emphasis on slowing down, increasing self-awareness, and working with emotional honesty rather than quick fixes or surface-level change.

I’m most proud of creating a practice that prioritizes depth over volume. From the beginning, I made a conscious decision to build a sustainable, values-aligned business rather than a fast-growing one. That has meant being selective about how I work, the systems I put in place, and the kind of therapeutic culture I wanted to create—one that centers safety, curiosity, and accountability. I’m especially excited about how the practice has become a space not just for symptom relief, but for meaningful relational change.

Business-wise, the path here wasn’t easy. Like many clinicians, I was trained extensively in therapy but far less in building and running a business. Starting a private practice required me to take risks, tolerate uncertainty, and develop skills outside of my clinical comfort zone—from setting boundaries and fees to navigating marketing, referrals, and growth. There were moments of self-doubt and fear, particularly around visibility and trust in myself. I overcame those challenges by returning to my values, seeking consultation and mentorship, and allowing the business to evolve gradually rather than forcing it to look like anyone else’s.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that a business, like a relationship, reflects the patterns of the person building it. When I’m clear about my values and boundaries, the practice feels aligned and sustainable. When I move too quickly or prioritize external expectations, it loses coherence. This insight has shaped how I structure my work and how I support clients who are navigating similar tensions in their own lives and careers.

What I want the world to know about my brand is that it’s rooted in care, intention, and relational responsibility. I believe therapy works best when it’s collaborative, attuned, and honest. My story—both personally and professionally—has taught me that growth doesn’t come from avoiding discomfort or striving for perfection, but from staying present, reflective, and willing to engage with what’s difficult. That philosophy is at the heart of my practice and informs every aspect of how I work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well as a gluten free girly who loves a sweet treat, my friend and I would mostly be living at Nectarine Grove either in Encinitas or Del Mar because you must have a cinnamon roll that makes you question if it indeed has gluten in it! While in Encinitas being on the beach is a must, for at least a stroll and a cup of coffee. And if we are in the Solana Beach area, post snack we would have to hit up the skate park and roller skate.
Staying more central we would fill a few of the days with vintage shopping at La Loupe (on Adams Ave), and the Girl Can’t Help It (in North Park). Post up in the Diggers Den at Vinyl Junkies (South Park) and then spend some time at the tiniest Tiki Bar, the Bali Hito (at Warshaws Provisions also in South Park) and sip on a Topo Chico.
Ideally there would be a local band playing somewhere like the Casbah, in Little Italy, and we would see more friends and enjoy a dance party.
Ideally if I am able to spend time with a friend there is lots of time to walk and talk and catch up and really just enjoy each other’s company!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The support, and mentorship of my colleagues, who are also friends, continue to support my goals and values as I navigate being a small business owner.

Website: https://www.therapywithcamillesd.com

Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1001667