- Attachment based work
- CBT skills
- DBT strategies
About Portia
Portia Anderson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) licensed in California with 19 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, and other life changes. Portia also lists blended family issues among her focus areas, and she supports people dealing with attachment concerns and family of origin problems.
She draws on psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and dialectical behavior approaches in sessions. That means conversations often look at patterns that repeat from the past, practical skills to manage thoughts and behaviors, and emotion regulation strategies for intense moments. Portia combines these methods with narrative ideas to help people make sense of difficult experiences.
Clients can expect a practical, talk-based approach. Sessions focus on what is happening now, what has led to it, and what small steps can change daily patterns. Portia works with issues such as substance use and recovery, mood disorders, abandonment, and communication problems.
Her background includes long-term psychotherapy work with people affected by trauma, foster care and adoption concerns, and socio-economic and identity-related stressors. She names court-mandated treatment among her experience, so she is familiar with legal-related therapy contexts.
Portia frames therapy around problems people bring in day to day. She helps identify repeating patterns, build coping tools, and try new ways of handling conflict. People read and rework the stories of their lives while learning concrete skills for calmer interactions and better self-management.
How Portia uses approaches in online sessions
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early bonds influence current relationships. It helps people understand loyalty conflicts, attachment struggles, and patterns that affect partnering and caregiving. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It provides straightforward exercises to change unhelpful thinking and behavior that fuel anxiety or depression. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills useful in high-intensity moments and relationship conflicts.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Portia will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals and daily life. She adjusts the balance of talk therapy and skills practice based on how someone responds and what they need to manage stress or blended household challenges.
Confirm the current session formats before booking, as options are not specified here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when days are hectic. It can also let someone choose sessions without being on camera or pick a quieter time that works around parenting and work. Licensed professionals who offer online work often combine talking through patterns with at-home skill practice to help change everyday routines.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
19+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she address?
Portia works with stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, and related family and intimacy issues.
What is her general approach in sessions?
She blends psychodynamic conversation with CBT and DBT techniques, focusing on patterns from the past and practical skills to manage emotions and behavior.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 19 years of experience as a psychotherapist, working across mood disorders, trauma-informed care, and substance use recovery.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices from that state.
Does she offer sessions in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are fees and billing handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What do I need to do to start working with her?
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.