- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Blended family issues
About Cathleen
Cathleen Stafford is a California licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with 25 years of professional experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, family concerns, intimacy-related issues, parenting, and depression, and she also works with people navigating blended family issues and related transitions.
She begins by treating the person in front of her as the expert on their life. Sessions are conversational and practical. She listens for strengths and patterns, then suggests small steps clients can try between meetings.
Cathleen uses a mix of approaches to fit different problems. That can mean helping someone notice and shift unhelpful thinking, or working to understand emotional responses in close relationships. She also draws on solution-focused ideas to set short-term goals and on Internal Family Systems to map parts that get activated during conflict.
People often come with worries about merging homes, co-parenting after separation, or feeling sidelined as a stepparent. Cathleen talks through those issues in straightforward terms and helps people find what works in daily life. She also addresses caregiver stress, communication breakdowns, infidelity, and midlife questions.
Sessions aim to be realistic and concrete. Expect direct observation, feedback, and tools you can use between sessions. Cathleen’s long experience means she can offer options from several methods and help clients choose what fits their situation.
How Cathleen’s approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy puts the client’s perspective front and center. In practice this means the therapist listens, reflects what she hears, and follows the client’s priorities. It helps when someone needs space to sort thoughts about parenting, a new partner, or loyalty conflicts in a blended household.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people notice thought patterns that feed anxiety or depression and then try small behavior changes to test new ideas. This approach is useful for stress, social anxiety, and practical problems like managing overwhelming tasks at home.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) focuses on the emotions that drive relationship patterns. It helps people name feelings and change interaction cycles that leave them stuck or disconnected.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options and help decide what fits the client’s needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative process can include trying one method for a few sessions and then adjusting if needed.
If you plan to use online sessions, confirm the supported session formats before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. If video is difficult, other arrangement options may use less bandwidth or be shorter for a quick review; please verify which formats are available when you schedule.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, family issues, intimacy-related problems, parenting, and depression. She also focuses on blended family issues and related transitions.
What is her therapy style like?
Her style is conversational and practical. She treats the client as the expert and suggests concrete steps to try between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
She has 25 years of professional experience in clinical work.
What are her credentials and where does she practice?
She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices there.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions scheduled and paid for?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is for adults and is not emergency care, mediation or legal advice. If you or a child are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.