Clare O'Toole , LMFT

Clare O'Toole is a California licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) who helps adults navigate stress, anxiety, trauma, relationship struggles, and issues tied to self-worth. She connects with people who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about next steps and offers straightforward, compassionate guidance to help them move forward.

Clare frames therapy as a collaborative process. Sessions focus on practical skills and clearer understanding of patterns that cause pain. She draws on approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to address thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in everyday life.

Many clients come for help with life changes, career uncertainty, parenting stress, caregiver strain, or challenges related to attention and impulsivity. Clare also works on relationship concerns such as communication problems, commitment worries, infidelity, and divorce or separation adjustments.

Her background spans 20 years of clinical work and progressive training in attachment-based thinking, trauma-informed care, and emotionally focused methods. That blend supports both short-term coping and deeper shifts in how people relate to themselves and others.

In sessions she uses a client-centered stance and practical exercises to build skills like emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. The aim is steady, realistic progress that fits each person’s life and priorities.

How Clare’s Approaches Translate to Online Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that reflect their values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and feeling stuck. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns formed in close relationships and helps people build healthier ways of connecting with others; it can be helpful for relationship and abandonment concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy. Clare treats the selection of methods as a collaborative choice based on a person’s goals, life demands, and what feels most helpful. She combines practical exercises with discussion so clients can test what works and adjust as needed.

Online therapy with Clare uses video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging for flexibility. Video sessions are good for deeper conversations and skill practice, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed, and chat or text can help people fit short check-ins into a busy day. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care while balancing work, family, and daily life.