Cheryl Wharton , LMFT

Cheryl Wharton is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 30 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people who feel stuck by listening closely and helping them find clearer direction. Cheryl works with concerns like anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy struggles, grief, addictions, and major life changes. She prefers a warm, straightforward style in sessions. Cheryl creates space for people to tell their story and feel understood. She emphasizes practical skills alongside deeper reflection so clients can make steady changes in day-to-day life. Her background includes a degree in psychology and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, followed by decades of counseling experience in California. That experience has shaped a holistic outlook that considers emotional, social, physical, and spiritual factors. Cheryl uses evidence-informed methods to help people develop coping skills, strengthen communication, and reduce intense reactions. She guides clients toward clearer goals and helps them practice new ways of relating and managing stress. Many seek her support to improve relationships, handle parenting and blended family challenges, process trauma or loss, and work through issues like codependency, commitment concerns, or social anxiety. Cheryl encourages growth that fits each person’s life and values.

Approaches that guide online sessions and practical support

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and acceptance. The therapist follows the person's lead, reflects what they say, and helps them discover their own next steps. This approach is useful for building trust and working through relationship and self-esteem concerns.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. Cheryl helps clients identify unhelpful thought patterns and practice small behavior changes to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress reactions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, emphasizes skills for managing strong emotions and improving relationships. It includes attention on distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and clearer communication for problems like overwhelming anger or intense anxiety.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. Cheryl will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and comfort level. She adjusts techniques over time so sessions stay practical and relevant.

Online sessions offer flexibility and easier access to regular care. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited, live chat fits brief check-ins, and text messaging helps with short updates or reminders. These options make it easier to fit work on healing into a busy life.