About Yi
Yi Ling Benson is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) who focuses on practical ways to reduce stress and anxiety. She keeps conversations straightforward and respectful, helping people clarify goals and take small steps toward feeling better. Her sessions center on the client’s experience.
She listens, reflects what she hears, and works with each person to build a plan that fits their life. That plan can include short-term strategies and longer-term shifts in thinking and behavior.
Background and approach
Benson draws on several approaches to match the work to the need. She uses client-centered methods to create a collaborative space, cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thinking patterns, and narrative ideas to reframe personal stories. She also integrates EMDR for people who have trauma reactions and the Gottman Method for relationship communication work.
Over four years she has supported people facing relationship strain, family conflict, low self-esteem, mood concerns, and workplace stress. She helps people who struggle with social anxiety, phobias, and questions about life purpose to find clearer next steps. Sessions are offered in English and Cantonese and are provided from California.
Benson accepts international clients and adapts her approach to each person’s background and goals. If someone needs a calm, practical partner while they sort things out, she offers that steady support.
Therapeutic approaches that work well online
Yi Ling Benson uses client-centered methods to make sessions collaborative and focused on each person’s priorities. That approach helps people feel heard and guides practical goal-setting during online meetings.She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. Online CBT often includes homework between sessions, simple skills practice, and short exercises that fit into a busy schedule. For clients with trauma-related reactions, Benson can use EMDR to process distressing memories; in an online format this means guided bilateral stimulation and careful pacing adapted to phone or video sessions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Benson will talk with each person about goals and preferences and then recommend methods to try. The choice is collaborative and can shift as progress is made.
Online therapy offers flexibility across several formats: video calls for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions when bandwidth is limited, live chat for brief check-ins, and text-based messaging for ongoing support. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family, or travel while keeping the focus on practical strategies and steady progress.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 4 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English, Cantonese
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