Claudia Santiago

Claudia Santiago is a California licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 12 years of experience. She helps people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and big life changes. Her approach is warm and collaborative, and she speaks both English and Spanish.

Claudia focuses on practical steps people can use right away. She listens first, then works with each person to set clear goals. Sessions commonly address anger, self-esteem, relationship communication, grief, addictions, and parental stress. She also supports people dealing with ADHD, bipolar symptoms, and compassion fatigue.

Her work blends client-centered listening with structured tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. She uses motivational interviewing to help people find their own reasons to change. The Gottman Method informs her work on communication and relational patterns without assuming couples-only therapy.

Claudia emphasizes cultural awareness in her practice. She notices how identity and cultural background shape feelings and coping. That perspective helps when addressing issues like attachment, abandonment, body image, and codependency.

In sessions she helps people name what’s happening, test small changes, and track progress. People leave with short-term strategies for sleep, mood, and urges, and longer-term skills for communication and boundaries. To begin, she asks clients to clarify goals and try approaches that fit their life.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy places the person’s perspective at the center of sessions, with the therapist following the client’s concerns and priorities to build understanding and trust. This approach is helpful for people who want a space to explore emotions and values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors. It tends to include concrete exercises that can be practiced between sessions to address anxiety, depression, and anger. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing skills to reduce reactivity and improve focus, which can help with stress, sleep, and impulse control.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their goals and everyday life. That process may include trying one strategy for several weeks and adjusting based on what helps most.

Confirm the current session options before booking so you know how meetings are scheduled and delivered. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into busy days, shorten travel time, or allow a quicker check-in during a break. Depending on which formats are supported, remote work also makes it easier to practice skills in real-world settings and discuss how those exercises go between meetings.