- Client-centered approach
- Cognitive behavioral tools
- Narrative work
About Cecilia
Cecilia Samartin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California with 20 years of experience. She works with adults on relationship problems, grief, parenting stress, self-esteem, and coping with life changes, including issues that trace back to family of origin patterns.
She keeps sessions focused and conversational. Cecilia uses client-centered and narrative ideas to help people make sense of painful experiences. She also draws on cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic perspectives when they fit the concern. Sessions aim to identify repeating patterns and small steps people can try between meetings.
People often come to her when old family roles, expectations, or communication habits are shaping their choices now. She helps name those patterns, look at how they formed, and consider different ways to relate and respond. Work may include looking at beliefs, shifting unhelpful thinking, or retelling personal stories to change how those memories guide behavior.
Cecilia has two decades of clinical work in California and brings practical skills for common life stresses. She uses solution-focused techniques for concrete goals and CBT strategies for thinking and behavior changes. Psychodynamic ideas help when past relationships keep resurfacing in current ones.
Her approach is conversational and goal-oriented. Sessions typically involve reviewing recent events, trying an intervention, and planning small experiments to test new ways of coping. This makes therapy feel like a series of manageable steps toward clearer decisions and steadier reactions.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to the person. Online sessions can preserve that conversational pace while helping people notice patterns that feel familiar from childhood or family life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts and actions and offers concrete experiments to try between sessions, which can be easy to assign and review in virtual appointments. Narrative therapy helps people retell their stories to change how past events influence present choices, using discussion and written exercises that transfer well to remote work.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process. Cecilia will work together with clients to choose methods that fit their goals, preferences, and the specific patterns they want to change. That collaborative selection can shift as progress is made or new priorities appear.
Specific session formats are not listed here, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit meetings into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when time is limited, and let people use written exercises or screen-sharing for handouts. These practical benefits can help integrate therapeutic work into everyday life without requiring long travel or time away from daily responsibilities.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
She works with relationship struggles, grief, parenting stress, self-esteem, and coping with life changes, plus related family of origin issues.
What is her therapeutic style?
Sessions are conversational and practical, blending client-centered listening with targeted interventions to test new behaviors between meetings.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Cecilia has 20 years of experience working with adults on a range of relationship and life transition issues.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices from that state.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are offered?
Session formats are not specified here; please confirm current session options before booking.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Looking for someone else? Find them by surname.