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Sheryl Strum, LMFT - California Therapist at Grow Therapy

Sheryl Strum

Sheryl Strum

LMFT
28 years of experience
Warm
Authentic
Holistic
Virtual

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 27+ 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.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

In our first session, we begin with brief introductions. Next, we 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.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

Because I've worked with anxious and depressed clients for the past 27 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.

About Sheryl Strum

Identifies as

Specializes in

Serves ages

Licensed in

Accepts

Appointments

Free consults, virtual

My treatment methods

Somatic

When clients are experiencing sadness, 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.

Dialectical Behavior (DBT)

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.

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

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, then develop healthy coping skills and replace negative, distorted thought patterns with reality-based thought patterns, their self-esteem and ability to have healthy relationships has significantly improved.