Janet Plankenhorn
Calm, practical support for everyday family life
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Experience
- 12 years
- Licensed in
- California
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Janet
Janet Plankenhorn is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and major life changes. She focuses on practical help for parenting challenges, relationship tensions, anger, self-esteem, and career concerns. Janet writes plainly and listens closely so parents and individuals can name the patterns that feel stuck and begin to make small changes.
She brings 12 years of experience as a California LMFT to each session.
Background and approach
Janet aims to build an open, nonjudgmental space where feelings and thoughts can be talked through. She encourages straightforward goals and step-by-step strategies that fit daily life. Her approach blends client-centered care with cognitive behavioral tools and solution-focused planning.
That means conversations begin with what matters to the person and move toward concrete steps that can ease symptoms and clarify choices. Janet helps people notice unhelpful habits, try new ways of responding, and track what does and doesn’t work. Sessions are practical and conversational rather than abstract.
Janet supports clients in naming emotions, setting realistic goals, and practicing new skills between sessions. She aims to make changes that feel doable alongside parenting and other responsibilities. Families and parenting concerns appear among her common focus areas, and she draws on her training to address relational patterns and day-to-day parenting struggles.
The overall goal is clearer thinking, fewer reactive moments, and more moments of calm and connection.
Approaches and online options for practical change
Client-centered work focuses on listening and understanding each person's priorities. The therapist follows the client's lead, clarifies what matters most, and helps people feel heard before suggesting steps forward. This approach helps when someone needs a safe space to sort out feelings and priorities.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, teaches simple skills to spot unhelpful thoughts and change them. It often includes short exercises and experiments to test new ways of thinking and behaving, which can reduce anxiety and improve mood. Solution-focused therapy looks for immediate, practical steps that can move a situation forward, emphasizing small changes and measurable progress.
Janet will collaborate with each person to choose the best mix of these approaches. Finding the right method is part of the work together, and she adjusts strategies based on goals, needs, and what feels useful in everyday life.
Online therapy offers flexible options like video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These formats make it easier to fit sessions around parenting, work, and other responsibilities while keeping continuity between meetings. The variety of formats also allows for quick check-ins, homework support, and steady progress without long commutes.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Solution-Focused Therapy
Rather than examining the problem at length, this looks at what is already working and builds on it. Sessions tend to be practical and forward-looking, with small achievable steps, which translates readily to shorter online conversations.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Grief
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 12 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Janet
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