About Frances
Frances "Francie" Pratte is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over two decades of professional experience. She combines a straightforward, respectful style with practical tools to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Francie also addresses relationship struggles, anger, and panic symptoms in focused, goal-oriented sessions.
Her background includes work as a registered nurse, which informs a calm and grounded approach. She treats caregiver stress and first responder issues with attention to real-world demands.
How Frances works
Francie helps people handle guilt, shame, life purpose questions, and the emotional changes around pregnancy and childbirth. Sessions center on the person’s needs and choices. Francie leans on Client-Centered Therapy to listen deeply and follow what matters most to each individual.
She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify patterns of thinking that fuel anxiety or low mood, and Solution-Focused Therapy to set clear short-term goals and track progress. Her style is collaborative and practical. People can expect concrete strategies to try between sessions and straightforward talk about what is helping.
Francie encourages small steps that build toward bigger change. Francie practices in California and works in English. She brings 21 years of experience to each session and aims to create a supportive space where people can sort priorities, reduce overwhelm, and feel more capable moving forward.
Frances lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Frances works with
The areas below are the ones Frances selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Anger management
Also listed
Training and background
| Register | LMFT |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 21 |
| 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
Using Client-Centered and Solution-Focused Work Online
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following what matters most to the person. The therapist reflects concerns, notices strengths, and helps shape goals that feel meaningful. This approach is useful when someone needs to be heard and understood before making changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It breaks problems into manageable parts and teaches skills for reducing anxiety, improving mood, and handling panic symptoms. Solution-Focused Therapy zeroes in on small, practical steps and measurable goals to create momentum toward change.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. Sessions often combine listening, skill practice, and short-term goal setting so the plan can shift as progress is made.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people use visual cues and longer conversation, phone can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for quick check-ins, and text messaging supports brief updates or coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to use the format that best supports ongoing progress.
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Common questions
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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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