About Andrea
Andrea Plate is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years of experience. She works with people facing anxiety, stress, grief, addiction, and major life changes. Her approach is practical and straightforward, focused on clear goals and steady progress.
Andrea spent nearly 15 years running a residential substance abuse treatment program at the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs. There she supported people experiencing homelessness and chronic mental illness.
Background and approach
That hands-on work shaped her understanding of complex problems and long-term recovery. Today she sees individuals from the general population and helps with relationship conflict, career setbacks, compassion fatigue, and caregiver strain. She teaches social welfare and addiction at a university in West Los Angeles, which keeps her current with developments in the field.
In sessions she adapts the conversation to fit each person. She draws on client-centered methods to build trust and on cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thinking and behaviors. Motivational interviewing helps when change feels overwhelming.
Her style is respectful and direct. She works to create practical steps for coping and problem solving. People can expect clear options, follow-up on progress, and adjustments when needed.
How Andrea’s approaches work online
Andrea commonly combines client-centered work and cognitive behavioral therapy in sessions. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening, respect, and responding to what matters most to the person. It helps when someone needs space to be heard and to sort out priorities. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and builds practical skills to change them, which is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life stress.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. She will partner with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That means adjusting plans over time and trying different tools until something clicks, rather than sticking to a single method from the start.
Online therapy offers flexibility that many people need. Video calls allow face-to-face connection for deeper conversation. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, skill reminders, or when a shorter touchpoint fits a busy day. These formats make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, and other responsibilities.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Career difficulties
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Sex addiction
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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