- Years in practice
- 30
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Cheryl
Cheryl Wharton is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 30 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people who are feeling stuck by listening closely, identifying strengths, and guiding practical steps toward better relationships and daily coping. She works with adults on issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, trauma, and intimacy concerns.
Parenting is one of the areas she addresses, along with relationship and communication difficulties.
Background and approach
Cheryl aims to help clients move from merely surviving to living with more purpose and connection. Her style is warm and direct. She creates space for people to tell their story and feel understood.
Sessions emphasize clear goals, building resilience, and using skills that can be practiced between meetings. Cheryl draws on client-centered methods to keep the work focused on each person's needs. She also uses cognitive behavioral ideas to shift unhelpful thoughts and dialectical behavior therapy skills to manage emotions.
Mindfulness and existential perspectives help clients explore values and life direction. Cheryl holds a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is licensed in California as an LMFT. Over three decades she has supported adults facing midlife transitions, blended family challenges, recovery issues, and questions about life purpose.
She invites people to begin by sharing their goals and deciding on the next practical steps together.
What Cheryl works with
Everything Cheryl lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Cheryl helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Depression
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Blended family issues
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Cheryl lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches and online options
Cheryl uses client-centered work to keep conversations focused on each person's experience and values, helping clients feel heard and guiding decisions based on what matters to them. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is used to identify and change thought and behavior patterns that increase anxiety or depression; it is useful when concrete strategies and practice make a difference.Finding the right approach is part of the process. Cheryl will work with clients to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences, combining approaches when that makes sense. This collaborative planning looks at what the client wants to change and which skills will be most helpful day to day.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, while phone sessions can be a better fit when bandwidth is limited or a quieter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging support shorter check-ins, homework exchanges, and ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep progress moving forward.
Questions people ask about Cheryl
What concerns does Cheryl help with?
She helps adults with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, addictions, relationship and intimacy concerns, parenting, anger, self-esteem, bipolar symptoms, and coping with life changes.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach is warm and direct, focused on listening, setting clear goals, and teaching practical skills you can use between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
She has 30 years of professional counseling experience working with adults across many life issues and relationship challenges.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy and is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - LMFT.
Which languages and international clients are supported?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
Therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does cost work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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