About Cynthia
Cynthia Cunningham is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist with 27 years of clinical experience. She speaks from long personal recovery, including 35 years of sobriety and work on co-dependency and love addiction. Cynthia frames therapy as a practical, step-by-step process where people stay in control of decisions about their care.
Her style is direct and compassionate. She helps people learn to set boundaries, say no kindly, and shift patterns that keep them stuck.
How Cynthia works
Cynthia draws on tools from cognitive behavioral approaches and psychodynamic ideas to support change in daily life. She commonly helps with addiction concerns, anxiety and panic, depression, and mood conditions such as bipolar disorder. She also addresses relationship and intimacy issues, stress, grief, self-esteem, eating and sleeping problems, and life transitions.
Additional focus areas include attachment and abandonment concerns, caregiver stress, body image, and communication difficulties. Sessions emphasize practical skills and personal insight. Cynthia uses approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy to tailor work to each person.
Clients set goals and direct the pace of therapy. Cynthia presents herself as a companion on the journey toward change. She aims to teach concrete strategies, coach through difficult conversations, and help people build habits that support long-term recovery and healthier relationships.
Cynthia lists 16 ways of working on the entry:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Gottman Method
- Hypnotherapy
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
What Cynthia works with
The areas below are the ones Cynthia selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 27 |
| 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 Cynthia’s Approaches Translate to Online Work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting ruled by them, then commit to actions that match their values. It can help with anxiety, addiction patterns, and motivation to change. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships shape current bonds and reactions; it can help people understand trust, abandonment fears, and intimacy struggles.Cynthia aims to find the right fit together. She will talk with each person about goals, past attempts at therapy, and preferences, then suggest approaches that match those needs. That collaborative process makes it easier to adjust methods over time if something isn’t working.
Online sessions offer flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for full conversations and visual cues, phone sessions can be helpful when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can work for shorter check-ins or when people need more frequent touchpoints. These options make scheduling easier and help therapy fit into busy lives.
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 CynthiaWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does she address?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What is her background and experience?
Where is she licensed and practicing?
Which languages are sessions offered in?
What session formats are available?
How does cost work for therapy?
How do I begin working with her?
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 addictions
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions
Practical therapy for stress and relationship strain