Dr. Julia Kaluga

Dr. Julia Kaluga is a Doctor of Psychology and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California. She has 14 years of experience helping people who feel stuck by stress, anxiety, depression, grief, or problems with relationships. She also supports those facing substance use, low self-esteem, and a range of life transitions. Dr. Kaluga speaks English and Russian and offers a straightforward, respectful approach.

Her work focuses on practical ways to manage strong emotions like anger and to steady daily functioning. She uses tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to spot unhelpful thinking and build different habits. Mindfulness-based exercises are offered to help ground attention and reduce reactivity in tense moments.

She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify what matters most, and on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance. Sessions emphasize simple skills that can be practiced between visits and tested in real life. The goal is clearer choices, not jargon.

Dr. Kaluga frames therapy as collaborative problem solving. She listens for what is working and what isn’t, then suggests modest steps to try. This practical focus can suit people who want short-term strategies and longer-term change.

To begin, a person completes a short matching questionnaire and schedules sessions based on availability. The practice uses a cancellable subscription model for sessions.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice what matters most to them and take small steps toward those values even when difficult thoughts or feelings appear. It is useful for coping with life changes, low motivation, and persistent worry. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions; it teaches practical skills to reframe unhelpful thinking and build new habits for anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills emphasize emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication, which can help when anger or intense emotions interfere with daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That conversation guides whether sessions focus more on skills practice, values work, or thought restructuring, and the plan can change over time based on what helps.

Confirm the available session options before booking, as formats are not listed here. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, or remove the need to be on camera for parts of a visit. These practical benefits often help people keep momentum while trying new skills in daily life.