About Charlene
Charlene Black is a California licensed marriage and family therapist with nine years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma, parenting challenges, and relationship worries. Charlene frames clients as the experts on their own lives and aims to build on existing strengths.
She works in a collaborative, straightforward way. Sessions tend to focus on practical steps people can try between meetings. Charlene uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused methods to identify patterns and set achievable goals.
How Charlene works
She also draws on dialectical behavior therapy and psychodynamic ideas when deeper emotion work is needed. Charlene helps people manage painful memories and the fallout from abuse or domestic violence in a paced, respectful manner. She supports those facing grief, burnout, compassion fatigue, and life changes such as divorce or blended family transitions.
Conversations also address self-esteem, body image, and challenges around commitment and communication. Her approach balances immediate coping skills with attention to long-standing relationship and attachment patterns. That means teaching concrete techniques while also looking at how past experiences shape current reactions.
Parents receive focused support for parenting stress and blended family concerns. People who prefer a direct, strengths-based style tend to find her work helpful. Sessions aim to be practical and rooted in everyday life.
Charlene speaks English and sees clients across California.
Charlene lists 6 ways of working on the entry:
What Charlene works with
The areas below are the ones Charlene selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 9 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Charlene commonly draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy in online work. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and teaches concrete skills to change unhelpful patterns. Dialectical behavior therapy emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication for intense emotions and relationship strain.She partners with clients to decide which methods fit best. That means discussing goals, trying techniques, and adjusting the plan together. Some people begin with problem-focused exercises and then add deeper exploration of patterns when they feel ready.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction for skills practice and deeper conversations. Phone sessions work well when video bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, skill reminders, and ongoing support between longer sessions.
These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, whether scheduling around work, childcare, or other responsibilities. The therapist and client can choose the format that best matches the goal for each session and change it as needed.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with CharleneWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
What is her general therapy style?
How long has she been practicing?
What are her credentials and where does she practice?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Can people outside the United States work with her?
What session formats are available?
How does payment and scheduling work?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions