Sharmaine WhittenLMFT

Sharmaine Whitten is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, and depression. She focuses on clear, practical steps that fit into busy lives and aims to make the first step feel manageable. Sharmaine speaks English and works from her California practice with five years of clinical experience as an LMFT. In sessions she listens for what matters most and tailors discussions to each person’s needs. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to spot unhelpful thinking patterns and from acceptance and commitment therapy to help people live by their values. Emotionally-Focused Therapy and the Gottman Method guide her work when relationship concerns come up. Clients can expect a calm, respectful approach that balances emotion and action. Sharmaine helps people name feelings, practice new ways of communicating, and test small changes between sessions. She also focuses on practical coping skills for panic, grief, and life transitions. Her work includes attention to communication problems, separation and divorce, forgiveness, guilt and shame, life purpose, and self-love. Pregnancy and childbirth are listed among her focus areas for parents navigating change and uncertainty. Sharmaine asks people to share their goals so she can shape a plan together. She frames progress as gradual and collaborative, and she adjusts methods to match what’s helping. To begin, clients use the Start Therapy button and complete a short matching questionnaire before scheduling.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice what they value and make small behavior changes toward those values. It can help with anxiety, low mood, and situations that feel overwhelming by teaching acceptance of difficult thoughts and gradual, value-driven action. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact and teaches tools to shift unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns; it is useful for panic, depression, and anxiety. Emotionally-Focused Therapy, EFT, centers on understanding and expressing emotions to improve connection and soothe distress in relationships and personal struggles.

Deciding which approach to use is a joint process. The therapist will discuss goals and try methods that match what a person wants to change. If one approach isn’t working, adjustments are made together so therapy stays practical and meaningful.

Specific session formats are not listed here, so confirm the available options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a weekday or work break, remove the need to travel, and allow for shorter check-ins when time is tight. It can also let people try tools between sessions in real life and then bring observations back to therapy for discussion. Licensed professionals can help adapt exercises and communication work so progress continues even when schedules are busy.