LMFT, 30 years of experience
Hi! I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in California. I received my Masters from California State University, Fresno and have been practicing for 29+ years. I love helping people who feel stuck in life due to anxiety and depression. I help clients develop self-insight based on their strengths and areas of interest. By doing so, they are able to overcome negative thoughts and self-defeating behaviors and to identify goals to move toward.
In our first session, we begin with brief introductions. We then explore specific difficulties that have been hindering you from moving forward in various areas of life. I will then work with you to develop a treatment plan that we will use in following sessions to help you attain your goals.
Because I've worked with anxious and depressed clients for the past 29 years, and love what I do, I've acquired a variety of effective, powerful skills to help my clients gain self-insight, understand underlying causes of what has been hindering them from moving forward in life and learn and develop skills to help them attain their goals.
I really enjoy helping people of all ages who feel unable to move forward in life due to unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior. My clients want to change but don't know how to begin. They are willing to work through difficult emotions and to develop positive self-care skills.
8 ratings with written reviews
July 22, 2025
Very kind and professional with clear expectations. A creative artistic approach was refreshing to discover.
July 22, 2025
Sheryl is warm and understanding. She is focused on solutions using a faith based approach. I felt encouraged and heard when talking to her.
May 21, 2025
I searched for a therapist and was apprehensive about whether someone could actually help me through shame for things I've done. Sheryl immediately was kind, non-judgmental, warm-hearted, and faith based. As a Christian, I needed someone to know the Scriptures too! Sheryl is a Holy Spirit lead person, and it shows in the way she administers her counsel. I can see her helping people of ALL faiths and backgrounds- as for me, she has helped me learn how to start forgiving myself.
When clients are experiencing sadness, anger and anxiety I often use somatic interventions to help them become aware of how these emotions remain in and impact their bodies. I provide them with psychoeducation about the effects of negative thoughts and emotions and the benefits of forgiveness on the body, mind and spirit. We then explore and process the thoughts and emotions associated with the somatic experiencing. Clients often report feeling "lighter" and "calm" as though a heavy weight has been lifted from their bodies, often from the heart, head and stomach areas. I occasionally incorporate somatic interventions with neurodevelopmental art interventions and EMDR.
I use DBT with clients who are anxious and/or depressed to help them recognize thought patterns and behaviors that have hindered them from experiencing positive relationships. I've used DBT particularly with individuals who self-mutilate. As clients learn mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness and distress tolerance they have become able to use these skills instead of engaging in self-harming behaviors and they have been able to have better relations with others.
I've used CBT with primarily angry, anxious and depressed individuals in order to help them understand that their thinking may be irrational, unhealthy for them personally and in relation to others. Once they have been able to acknowledge this, we work on developing healthy coping skills and replacing negative thought patterns with reality-based thought patterns. As a result, their self-esteem and ability to have healthy relationships has significantly improved.