About Claudia
Claudia Smith is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California with 40 years of professional experience. She focuses on practical support for stress, anxiety, addictions, low self-esteem, and depression. Claudia centers the work on each person's strengths and goals.
She believes change starts with small, steady steps and a clear plan. Claudia uses plain, direct conversation to help people gain momentum. She listens first, then suggests tools that fit daily life.
How Claudia works
That might include mindfulness exercises, skills for managing strong emotions, or short goal-focused strategies to build confidence. Her approach is collaborative. Clients set the pace and choose what to try next.
Claudia offers coaching-style guidance when someone needs motivation and hands-on skills when emotions feel overwhelming. Across her long career she has also worked with concerns such as ADHD, grief, bipolar mood challenges, and issues tied to adoption and foster care. Other focuses include codependency, substance use, family of origin patterns, and life purpose questions.
Sessions aim to be practical and respectful. Claudia helps people find clearer choices, reduce distressing patterns, and create routines that support well-being. She accepts English-speaking clients in California and works with international clients as well.
Claudia lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Claudia works with
The areas below are the ones Claudia selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Impulsivity
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 40 |
| 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
How Claudia's Approaches Work Online
Claudia draws from Client-Centered Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to guide online work. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and building on what already works for a person; it helps when someone needs space to understand their own goals. DBT offers clear skills for managing intense emotions, reducing impulsive behavior, and improving relationships, which can be useful for anxiety, addictions, or mood instability.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Claudia will talk with each person about their needs, daily life, and what feels helpful. Together they decide which tools and strategies to try first, then adjust as progress is made.
Online formats available include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is good for face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone works when bandwidth is limited, live chat and messaging suit quick check-ins or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to use shorter touchpoints for skill practice or support.
Start online instead of waiting
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Common questions
What concerns does Claudia work with?
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What professional background does she bring?
What are Claudia's credentials and where is she based?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
What are the first steps to begin working together?
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.
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