Claudia Santiago, LCSW

Claudia Santiago is an LCSW with 12 years of experience helping people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and major life changes. She works in California and offers therapy in English and Spanish. Claudia focuses on practical steps people can use right away and keeps sessions collaborative and respectful.

Her approach centers on listening first and finding what matters most to each person. She uses client-centered methods to build trust and clarify goals. Claudia also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking and to practice clearer, healthier responses.

She has particular experience with trauma, grief, addictions, and challenges tied to chronic pain, illness, or disability. Claudia also supports people dealing with relationship difficulties, communication problems, attachment and abandonment issues, and parenting strain. She addresses concerns like self-esteem, sleeping problems, anger, and burnout from caregiving or work-related stress.

Claudia combines mindfulness practices with motivational interviewing to help people stay engaged with change and build lasting routines. For relationship issues she incorporates Gottman-informed work to improve communication and reduce conflict. Her style is warm, direct, and focused on small, achievable steps that fit into daily life.

To begin, clients choose the Start Therapy button and complete a short matching questionnaire. Scheduling is arranged based on therapist availability, and sessions use a cancelable subscription model.

Approaches that translate well to online care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building shared goals, helping people feel heard and understood while they work through stress, grief, or identity questions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps identify unhelpful thoughts and practice new behaviors, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and managing ADHD symptoms.

Choosing the right method is part of the work. Claudia will discuss what feels most useful and adapt methods to fit each person's needs and preferences. That collaboration helps shape goals and decide which exercises to try between sessions.

If you plan to pursue therapy online, confirm the current session formats before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into busy lives, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It also supports working on skills between sessions and bringing real-life examples into conversation, while the therapist and client decide together how best to schedule and structure visits.