Henry Ayesiga

Henry Ayesiga, AMFT, is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with more than 3,000 supervised hours of clinical experience supporting children, teens, adults, couples, and families. He provides compassionate, collaborative therapy for individuals navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional regulation difficulties, relationship challenges, family conflict, self-esteem concerns, and major life transitions.

Henry has worked with clients in both outpatient and inpatient mental health settings, including individuals experiencing significant and complex mental health challenges. His experience at Homes For Life Foundation – Cedar St. Homes strengthened his ability to remain calm, supportive, and practical when helping clients work through difficult emotions, behaviors, relationships, and life circumstances.

At the center of Henry’s work is the belief that therapy should be a partnership. He strives to create a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment where clients feel genuinely heard and involved in their treatment. Rather than using the same approach with everyone, Henry tailors therapy to each client’s needs, strengths, personality, and goals.

Henry works with clients across the lifespan, from children age 8 and older through senior adults, and particularly enjoys working with teens, young adults, and couples. He connects well with young people and helps them put difficult emotions into words, better understand what they are experiencing, and develop practical skills for managing stress and everyday challenges.

For teens and young adults, therapy may focus on anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, self-esteem, identity, relationships, family conflict, school or work stress, and major transitions. Henry helps clients strengthen self-awareness and coping skills while building greater confidence in their ability to navigate change.

Henry also enjoys working with couples experiencing communication difficulties, relationship stress, conflict, or disconnection. He helps partners better understand their patterns, communicate more effectively, and develop healthier ways of responding to one another. His collaborative style creates space for both partners to feel heard while working toward greater understanding and connection.

His work with families includes parent coaching and family support. Henry helps parents better understand emotional and behavioral challenges, strengthen communication, develop practical strategies, and create healthier patterns within the family. He recognizes that meaningful change often happens not only within the individual, but also within the relationships and environments surrounding them.

Henry incorporates evidence-based approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness, and Parts Work. He draws from these and other approaches based on what best fits each client rather than forcing treatment into a single therapeutic model.

Through CBT and DBT-informed strategies, Henry helps clients better understand the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors while strengthening coping skills, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and communication. ACT and mindfulness can help clients develop greater awareness, clarify what matters to them, and take meaningful steps toward lives that align more closely with their values.

Henry practices with cultural humility and welcomes individuals and families from a wide range of backgrounds. He is a native Luganda speaker and is fluent in English and Swahili, allowing him to provide therapy across multiple languages and better support clients for whom culture and language are important parts of the therapeutic relationship.

Henry earned his Master of Science in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton and his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hope International University. He is also a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and has completed certification in youth suicide awareness, prevention, and postvention.

Outside of therapy, Henry coaches youth tennis and enjoys helping young people develop confidence, perseverance, and resilience both on and off the court.

Whether you are a teen struggling with big emotions, a young adult navigating change, a parent looking for support, or a couple wanting to strengthen your relationship, Henry offers a steady, collaborative environment where you can better understand what is happening, develop practical tools, and work toward meaningful, lasting change.