Therapist profile
Dr. Carol Schmidt, LCSW
LCSW - Family and parenting focused care
Continue with CarolAbout
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
About Carol
Dr. Carol Schmidt is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, practicing in California with ten years of clinical experience. She focuses on common household stresses adults bring in - anxiety, depression, grief, parenting strain, family problems, and relationship concerns. She also works with people facing life changes, anger, self-esteem struggles, attention differences, and mood-related difficulties.
Her sessions are straightforward and conversational. She uses client-centered methods to listen and reflect what matters most to the person in the room. She also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to help people identify unhelpful thinking and try practical changes in behavior.
Dr. Schmidt integrates psychodynamic ideas when looking at long-standing relationship patterns and how past experiences shape current reactions. That can help when someone wants to make sense of repeating family dynamics or patterns in intimate relationships. She blends approaches to match a person’s goals rather than sticking to a single method.
People often come with mixed concerns: parenting stress linked to sleep loss, grief tied to other life changes, or anxiety that affects work and home. Her work includes short-term problem solving and longer-term reflection depending on what someone needs. Sessions aim to be clear and usable for daily life.
Her background includes a Master of Social Work and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology. She brings ten years of practice in community and clinical settings and uses that experience to help adults manage family-related and personal challenges.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what matters to the individual. Online sessions using this approach tend to emphasize the person's priorities, immediate concerns, and what they want to change or understand.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. In an online format CBT is often practical and skills-focused, with exercises and small experiments people can try between meetings to reduce anxiety or shift mood.
Psychodynamic therapy pays attention to recurring patterns and past influences on current behavior. Online meetings can support that exploration through regular, reflective conversations that look for themes in relationships and responses.
Choosing an approach is collaborative. The therapist will talk with the client about goals and preferences and suggest which methods to try first. That plan can change over time as needs and goals evolve.
Confirm the session formats offered before booking so they fit your schedule. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. Therapists and licensed professionals often find that remote sessions help people maintain continuity of care while balancing family and work commitments.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
10+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of family and parenting concerns does she address?
She helps adults with parenting stress, blended family issues, divorce and separation concerns, and general family problems. Relationship tension and intimacy-related issues are also part of her focus.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a conversational, client-centered style and pairs that with cognitive behavioral techniques and psychodynamic perspectives. Sessions mix practical problem solving with exploration of longer-term patterns.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has ten years of practice experience working in clinical and community settings. That background informs how she approaches stress, grief, mood concerns, and family-related issues.
What are her credentials and where does she practice?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in California. Her practice information notes California as her stated location.
Does she work in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are fees handled and what about payment?
Fees vary with location and sessions are billed through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. Specific costs are provided during the sign-up process.
How do I begin working with her?
Begin by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session through the platform.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.