About Cheri
Cheri Atkinson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California with more than 40 years of experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, anger, and major life changes. Cheri also supports those facing chronic illness, caregiver strain, cancer, and the effects of trauma and abuse.
Cheri creates a calm, nonjudgmental space where people can talk about what feels hardest. She helps clients learn practical emotional coping skills.
Background and approach
Sessions focus on clear goals and steps people can use between meetings. Her work includes helping clients with relationship and family concerns, communication problems, control issues, and career stress. She also addresses more specific challenges like chronic pain, intellectual disability impacts, HIV/AIDS, and isolation or loneliness.
Cheri adapts her approach to each person’s situation and pace. She draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to make plans that fit real life. The emphasis is on usable strategies that reduce distress and build resilience.
Clients often come for help after medical events, accidents, or during difficult caregiving roles. Cheri offers steadiness and practical guidance while people navigate those changes. She aims to support and empower people as they take the next steps toward feeling better.
How therapeutic approaches work with online sessions
Evidence-based techniques are used to help people manage symptoms and build new skills. One common approach is skills-focused work that teaches emotional coping strategies and practical tools for stress, panic, and mood problems. These techniques break problems into concrete steps and give exercises to practice between sessions. Another approach focuses on processing grief, trauma, or medical-related losses through careful discussion and pacing; this helps people name what happened and find ways to move forward without feeling rushed.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss your concerns, goals, and day-to-day life and then try methods that fit your needs. Sessions are adjusted over time based on what helps most, so you and the therapist work together to find the best path.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to meet. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions need less bandwidth and can be easier on days you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging provide short check-ins, quick coping reminders, or support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or medical schedules while keeping focus on practical progress and emotional support.
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Anger management
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English