About Claudia
Claudia Smith is a licensed clinical social worker with 40 years of experience in California. She focuses on stress, anxiety, addictions, motivation, self esteem, and depression. Claudia approaches each person as the expert on their life and works alongside them to set practical goals.
She aims to make the first steps toward change feel manageable and hopeful. Claudia uses straightforward conversation to identify what is working and what is getting in the way.
Background and approach
She listens for strengths and builds on them. Sessions often include goal-setting and simple skills to reduce overwhelm and boost everyday functioning. Her background includes long-term practice helping people navigate grief, bipolar challenges, ADHD, and relationship patterns that stem from family of origin issues.
She also supports people dealing with chronic illness, adoption and foster care concerns, and recovery from drug or alcohol problems. Claudia draws on a variety of approaches to match each person’s needs. In session she focuses on clear steps rather than jargon.
She helps clients practice new behaviors between meetings and checks progress together. The aim is steady improvement in how someone copes with stress and moves toward their goals. Claudia offers work that is collaborative and practical.
She empowers people to act on their values and to develop skills for everyday life. Her style is patient, direct, and focused on real changes that fit a person’s daily routine.
How Claudia’s Methods Work Online
Claudia blends client-centered work with DBT skills and mindfulness to help people manage anxiety and stress. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person’s priorities, then shaping work around what matters most to them. Dialectical behavior therapy provides concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness. Mindfulness therapy teaches attention to the present moment and simple practices to reduce reactivity and calm the mind.Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. Claudia will talk with the person about their goals, day-to-day challenges, and what has helped or not helped before. Together they decide whether to emphasize skills training, mindfulness practice, or solution-focused planning, and they adjust the plan as progress is tracked.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and skill coaching. Phone sessions work well when video is difficult or bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging are useful for shorter check-ins, brief coaching, or follow-up between sessions. These options make therapy easier to fit around work, caregiving, or travel while keeping the focus on steady progress and practical change.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Claudia commonly address?
What is her general approach in therapy?
How much experience does she bring to sessions?
Where is Claudia licensed and based?
In what language are sessions offered?
What session formats are available?
How are session costs handled?
How do I begin working with Claudia?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Impulsivity
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.