Cheryl Wharton, LMFT

Cheryl Wharton is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in California with 30 years of clinical experience. She focuses on helping people navigate midlife shifts, relationship struggles, anxiety, depression, and other life changes. Her style is warm and direct, aimed at helping people move from surviving to living with more purpose and connection.

Cheryl works with individuals to create space for honest conversation and to uncover strengths. Sessions emphasize practical steps and clear goals. She draws on therapeutic tools to help people reduce anxiety, manage stress, and repair or improve important relationships.

Her background includes a degree in psychology and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, followed by decades of counseling work. That experience informs a patient, grounded approach that values real-life change over jargon.

In sessions she encourages vulnerability and resilience. Conversations often cover communication patterns, family of origin issues, commitment and codependency concerns, and struggles with purpose or loneliness. Cheryl also addresses addiction, grief, trauma, and parenting challenges when relevant to the person’s goals.

People who seek her help can expect a conversational, guided process that balances emotional insight with concrete skills. She encourages clients to define what ‘‘amazing’’ relationships and a meaningful life look like for them, then takes practical steps together to get there.

How Cheryl’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, acceptance, and building a trusting therapeutic relationship. It helps people feel heard and clarify what they want from life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to manage anxiety, low mood, and unhelpful behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improving interpersonal effectiveness for people who struggle with intense emotions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Cheryl will work with each person to identify goals, try methods that fit their needs, and adjust the plan as progress unfolds. The therapeutic path can mix approaches so that skills work and deeper reflection support each other.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-in sessions when needed. Many people find that familiar therapeutic tools translate well to remote formats when matched to their goals and circumstances.