About Clare
Clare O'Toole welcomes people who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about their next steps. She writes simply and directly, offering a steady presence and practical ways to manage stress, anxiety, or big life changes.
Background and approach
Clare is a licensed marriage and family therapist - LMFT - practicing in California with twenty years of experience. Her sessions are collaborative and nonjudgmental.
She listens for patterns that keep people stuck and helps them try small changes to test new ways of living. Clare mixes talking, problem solving, and simple skill practice so ideas can be used between appointments.
Clare draws on tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different actions. She also uses acceptance and commitment therapy to clarify values and build a life that matters.
Attachment-based ideas guide her work when relationship patterns and early bonds shape current struggles. She has worked with concerns such as anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, ADHD, caregiver stress, compassion fatigue, and relationship problems.
Clare also supports people facing career decisions, separation and divorce, feelings of emptiness, and difficulties with trust or commitment. Sessions can include coaching-style conversations, emotion-focused talking, and practical strategies for coping with anger, impulsivity, or overwhelming feelings.
Her goal is to help people feel more grounded, connected, and able to take the next steps they want in life.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Clare commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in online sessions. CBT helps people identify and change unhelpful thought patterns and then practice new behaviors to see what works. Acceptance and commitment therapy focuses on clarifying personal values, accepting difficult feelings, and taking committed action toward what matters most.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Clare will discuss goals, preferences, and the issues you bring to decide which methods to emphasize. That collaboration lets sessions adapt over time as needs change.
Online therapy with Clare is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth or camera use is a concern. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to check in between appointments, fit a quick check during a break, or keep working when typing feels more comfortable. These options give flexibility so therapy can fit daily life rather than the other way around.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Clare commonly help with?
What is her style in sessions?
How long has she been practicing?
What credentials does she hold and where is she based?
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Which formats are available for sessions?
How does payment and cost work?
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English