Jessica Criner, LMFT

Jessica Criner is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California who focuses on helping people navigate periods of intense change, transition, and uncertainty. She recognizes how upheaval can bring up depression, anxiety, and unresolved trauma, and she works to identify the underlying issues while honoring the resilience that carried each person this far. Jessica centers her work on trauma-informed care and uses evidence-informed methods, including Brainspotting to address the body and brain responses to trauma, and Emotionally Focused Therapy when working with couples.

Her clinical expertise includes stress and anxiety, relationship and family conflicts, trauma and abuse, and self-esteem concerns. She also addresses complex areas such as abandonment and attachment issues, blended family dynamics, codependency, commitment challenges, domestic violence, and the impacts of addiction and substance use. Jessica has experience supporting people affected by the foster care system, transracial adoption concerns, and wounds tied to racial or religious trauma.

Jessica approaches therapy from a client-centered stance, believing that each person is the expert on their own story and already holds strengths to build on. She aims to help clients move toward emotional healing and relief by working collaboratively to uncover roots of difficulty and by supporting practical steps toward change. Her practice emphasizes empathy, empowerment, and practical strategies to promote healthier relationships and greater emotional regulation.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Jessica integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into her work to help people clarify values, accept difficult emotions, and take committed action toward a meaningful life. ACT is useful for anxiety, stress, and persistent worry because it focuses on what matters to the client rather than trying to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling.

Attachment-Based Therapy is another core approach Jessica uses to explore how early relationships shape current patterns in intimacy and trust. This approach supports healing around abandonment, attachment wounds, and relationship difficulties by helping clients understand and reshape relational responses.

Jessica also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that contribute to mood and anxiety symptoms. CBT offers practical strategies for managing symptoms and building coping skills.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Jessica works with each person to assess needs, goals, and preferences and tailors interventions accordingly so the approach fits the client rather than the other way around.

Online therapy offers flexibility and accessibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care around work, family, and life demands and allow licensed professionals to deliver consistent therapeutic support across a variety of formats.