About Kenneth
Kenneth Shigematsu is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 35 years of practice in California. He focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and LGBT concerns. He helps people who are trying to cope with life changes and regain steadiness.
He works from the belief that each person knows their own story best. Sessions invite clear listening and practical steps. Kenneth points out strengths and uses them to address immediate problems and longer patterns.
Background and approach
His style is straightforward and respectful. He asks questions, listens closely, and reflects what matters most to the client. He helps people set small, doable goals and notice progress along the way.
Kenneth draws on approaches like client-centered work and cognitive behavior techniques to break down stress and anxiety. He also uses motivational interviewing and solution-focused methods to build momentum and focus on what changes will help now. Over three decades he has worked with a wide range of concerns, including relationship patterns, grief, caregiver strain, and issues tied to gender and sexual identity.
Sessions aim to make problems easier to name and manage. The focus is on practical ways to feel more capable and move toward a life that feels more manageable.
Approaches and Online Support for Stress and Anxiety
Client-centered therapy focuses on understanding each person's perspective and building on their strengths. It involves listening, reflecting, and helping people identify what they already do well so they can use those abilities when facing stress or changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect. It helps people spot unhelpful thinking patterns, try new behaviors, and reduce anxiety through practical exercises and small experiments.
Motivational interviewing helps when someone feels stuck or unsure about change. It uses open questions and reflective listening to clarify goals and boost the motivation to try new steps.
Choosing the right approach is a team effort. Kenneth will work with each person to pick methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That often means combining techniques and adjusting the plan as progress is made.
Online sessions offer flexible ways to meet by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when being on camera is difficult. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins, quick problem solving, or when writing out thoughts helps. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Family of origin issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 35 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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