About Cathleen
Cathleen Stafford is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 25 years of experience helping people manage stress and anxiety. She encourages clients to use their own strengths and life knowledge as the foundation for change. Her manner is straightforward and supportive, aimed at helping someone take the first step and keep going.
She focuses on issues that often come with family life, such as parenting, blended family adjustments, and communication problems.
Background and approach
She also works with intimacy-related concerns, relationship infidelity, and separation or divorce. Depression, postpartum mood changes, and social anxiety are part of her day-to-day practice as well. Cathleen uses a mix of approaches to match a person’s needs.
She draws on client-centered methods to listen and reflect what matters most to the client. She applies cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thinking and test new behaviors. Emotionally-focused ideas guide work on attachment and closeness in relationships.
Beyond relationships and mood, she addresses life transitions like midlife questions, purpose finding, and the stresses caregivers face. She also brings experience around veteran and armed forces issues and young adult concerns. Her work tends to be practical and goal-oriented while staying attentive to emotions.
Cathleen practices in California and offers sessions in English. She aims to make the process clear and manageable for people who may be feeling overwhelmed at the start.
How Cathleen’s Approaches Work Online
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people notice patterns of thinking that increase anxiety or low mood and then try small behavior experiments to change those patterns. It is useful for stress, social anxiety, and depression. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, reflecting, and supporting the client's own goals so they can find what feels right for them. This approach is helpful when someone needs understanding and a calm space to sort things out.Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. Cathleen will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful. Together they try methods and adjust the plan based on what is actually working for the client.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video sessions let you work face-to-face from different locations. Phone calls can be easier if you have limited bandwidth or prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging allow shorter check-ins or ongoing written support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Cathleen commonly address?
What is her general therapeutic style?
How much experience does she have?
What are her credentials and where is she based?
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Can international clients work with her?
What session formats are available?
How do fees and scheduling work?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
Also listed
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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