Sheila Owens, LCSW - Therapist in California

About Sheila

Sheila Owens is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people coping with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship troubles, parenting challenges, and grief. She also supports those facing bipolar symptoms, trauma and abuse, LGBT concerns, and struggles with self-esteem. Sheila writes and talks plainly, aiming to make the first steps toward change feel a little less overwhelming.

She brings eight years as an LCSW and three additional decades of hands-on mental health work as a case manager and case coordinator.

Background and approach

That long involvement in community settings shaped how she listens and how she plans treatment. She focuses on practical ways to reduce day-to-day distress and rebuild confidence. Her style is respectful and direct.

Conversations and treatment plans are tailored to each person. Sheila emphasizes collaboration and helps people set clear, realistic goals they can actually use between sessions. She has helped adults through life changes such as divorce, career shifts, and family problems.

Her background includes work with abandonment issues, communication problems, hoarding, impulse control, and infidelity. Those experiences inform her problem-solving approach. Community advocacy matters to her.

Sheila has worked to reduce the stigma around mental health in California neighborhoods where she has served. She blends clinical skill with practical support to help people move toward a more stable, satisfying daily life.

How Sheila’s approaches work in online sessions

Client-Centered Therapy centers the person and their experience, so conversations focus on what matters most to the client and the therapist follows their lead to build trust. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and communication tools that help when emotions feel overwhelming.

Choosing the right method is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before to decide which approaches to try. That plan can change over time based on progress and feedback, and sessions are always collaborative.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which give flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. Video lets for face-to-face interaction, phone can fit into busy days, and chat or messaging can be used for brief check-ins or ongoing support between sessions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while balancing family, work, and daily life.

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.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Concrete skills for riding out strong emotion, tolerating distress, and handling relationships without things escalating. The skills are practised in daily life, so between-session support by message or phone fits naturally.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Sheila address?

Sheila focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar symptoms, relationship issues, parenting, grief, trauma and abuse, LGBT matters, and self-esteem problems, plus many related concerns such as abandonment, codependency, and infidelity.

How would she describe her therapy style?

Her approach is respectful and straightforward, with an emphasis on collaboration and practical steps. She tailors conversations and plans to what each person needs.

What kind of experience does she bring?

She has eight years as a licensed clinical social worker and about 30 additional years of experience in the mental health field as a case manager and coordinator.

Where is Sheila licensed to practice?

She is licensed in California as an LCSW with license number CA LCSW 115925.

Which languages are therapy sessions offered in?

Sessions are offered in English.

What session formats are available?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging for flexible scheduling and communication styles.

How does pricing work?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.

How do I get started with therapy?

Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and scheduling according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Self esteem

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 8 years
Licensed: California
Languages: English

Next step

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