Nancy O'Neil , LCSW

Nancy O'Neil is a California licensed clinical social worker with 29 years of experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress and anxiety, work through addictions, and navigate grief and loss. Nancy also supports those dealing with depression and relationship challenges.

Her approach begins with listening to each person's story and recognizing their strengths. She encourages clients to name what matters most and to take small steps toward change. Sessions are practical and centered on the client's goals rather than on jargon.

Nancy draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to address patterns that keep people stuck. She helps clients build healthier communication, manage overwhelming feelings, and develop coping strategies for hard situations like divorce, infidelity, or caregiving strain. Work can include short-term problem solving or longer-term skill building depending on needs.

She also attends to related concerns such as body image, codependency, substance use, and isolation. Nancy has experience with first responder issues, hospice and end-of-life counseling, and recovery from natural or human-caused disasters. Her practice aims to be steady and compassionate while clients make changes.

Nancy emphasizes collaboration in therapy. She supports people as they try new approaches and adjusts the plan when something is not working. The goal is clearer direction and more manageable day-to-day functioning.

Evidence-based approaches for online care

Nancy uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical skills and emotional understanding. One common approach helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and try out new thinking and behavior patterns to reduce anxiety and depression. Another approach emphasizes building coping skills for cravings, triggers, and relapse prevention when addressing addictions. These methods are taught in simple steps and practiced in sessions to make them easier to use between meetings.

Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals and preferences, try methods that seem to fit, and adjust the plan based on what helps most. Clients are involved in choosing techniques and setting the pace of work.

Online therapy offers practical benefits such as flexible scheduling and several ways to connect. Video calls let the therapist and client have a face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can be a good alternative when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text messaging work well for brief check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep momentum between meetings.