David Miller
(he/him)
Greetings. I’m David Joel Miller, licensed in California as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Clinical Counselor. Before entering private practice, I worked as a substance abuse counselor and for my local County Behavioral Health. I specialize in helping clients navigate life’s transitions and overcome depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. After working as a substance abuse counselor and then a marriage and family therapist, I also completed the requirements for licensure as a professional clinical Counselor. I am also a certified life coach. I think of myself as an indoor mountain climber. I don’t like getting out in the cold and rain, but I do like taking on new challenges. I read a great deal and have learned a lot, but I continue to learn more things each day. Like most people my age, I have the frustrations of coping with technology. But one of my interns taught me how to answer texts, and now my younger family friends are teaching me how to use iPads and streaming videos. I hope that these experiences give me some insight into how things are changing and how some things don’t change at all. I’d like to accompany you as you try to work through your life challenges.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
The first session will begin by getting to know each other. We will explore the challenges you’re currently facing and map out a process to help you cope with those issues. I look forward to hearing about your struggles in the past, the lessons you learned from them, and where you’d like to go in the future. I try to approach problems from the perspective of experience. And hopefully I can help you overcome the obstacles in your path.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
My hope is that my life experiences can be helpful to you. Those life experiences have made me more understanding and empathetic towards the people I see. I have worked in various occupations, been married and divorced, and had children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I’ve been going to school for over 70 years now, either as a student or a teacher, and I’m still incredibly curious about other people’s lives and how they make them work. I worked for a while as a substance abuse counselor and saw the devastation that drugs and alcohol can cause to individuals and families. I’ve learned firsthand about having to change careers and reinvent myself, and I’ve had to learn about the process of grieving the loss of family and friends and still creating meaning and purpose in my life as I now enter my seventy-sixth year on planet Earth. I would like to be a part of your creating a flourishing life.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
Life’s transitions can be difficult, and they can affect your mental and emotional health. Whether it’s your career, your relationship, or dealing with grief and loss, talking with a professional counselor can help you get through the difficult times in life. Keeping your life in balance means coordinating your thinking, feelings, and behaviors. Life transitions have been a major focus of my work over the last 20 years. If you need to talk about life’s challenges, let’s schedule a consultation and see if professional therapy is right for you.
Specialties
Top specialties
Depression
Life Transitions
Substance Misuse
Other specialties
Grief
Older Adults
I identify as
Man
White
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Licensed in
California
Accepts
Aetna
Location
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy emphasizes how thoughts affect your feelings and behavior.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person Centered Counseling involves exploration of emotions and feelings and invites you to tell your story as a way of making sense of your life.
Grief Therapy
If you’ve experienced painful losses, grief therapy can help you make sense of those losses and find new directions for your life.
18 ratings with written reviews
May 13, 2026
He definitely cares about his patients/clients. He was authentic and very open and willing to listen and understand what was being said. Extremely appreciative for his time and look forward to furthering therapy with him.
Verified client, age 25-34
May 8, 2026
Ciao~~AHHH! I am not using my "handrails" as much and validating my self more and more~~A great move forward~~the story continues! Thank you , David
Verified client, age 65+
February 27, 2026
Great conversationist. Helped me get a lot of my thoughts out. Had really great insight. Thanks for talking to me on short notice!!