Cheryl Martin

Cheryl Martin is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) based in California who helps people navigating stress, anxiety, grief, and feelings of isolation and loneliness. She speaks English and Tagalog and draws on 15 years of clinical experience to support people through tough transitions and painful events.

Cheryl keeps things straightforward in sessions. She creates a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about family conflict, relationship or intimacy concerns, parenting strain, career stress, and struggles with self-esteem. She also works with trauma, compassion fatigue, abandonment wounds, and the aftermath of divorce or separation.

Her work combines listening with practical ways to move forward. Cheryl uses client-centered methods to follow each person’s goals, and cognitive behavioral techniques to try different thoughts and behaviors in daily life. She also uses emotionally focused ideas to look at how people connect in important relationships and EMDR and psychodynamic approaches when past events keep showing up in the present.

Cheryl aims to help people build clearer communication, healthier boundaries, and more satisfying relationships with themselves and others. She focuses on small, achievable steps so progress feels real and manageable.

To begin, she asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a time that fits their needs. The process is collaborative, and Cheryl works with each person to decide goals and the pace of change.

How Cheryl’s approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the person’s lead. In practice this means the therapist reflects what is said and helps people set goals that matter to them. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and actions affect mood and behavior; it gives practical tools for coping with anxiety, stress, and low mood. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) helps people understand patterns in close relationships and try new ways of responding to feel more connected.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Cheryl will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and together they will decide which methods to try first. That plan can change as therapy progresses to match what actually helps.

Many people find online therapy easier to fit into busy lives because it can reduce travel and allow sessions to take place during breaks or between commitments. The practical details of session formats are not specified here, so confirm current session options before booking. The focus is on making therapy usable - fitting sessions into real schedules, using tools and homework that apply to daily life, and keeping therapy focused on steps a person can practice between meetings.