- Guilt and shame
- Client-centered approach
- Solution-focused techniques
About Bonavy
Bonavy Som-Keo is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with five years of professional experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, low self-esteem, and depression. She also focuses on communication problems, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation and self-love.
Bonavy centers sessions on each person's own story and strengths. She views clients as the experts on their lives and helps them notice resources they already have. Conversations are practical and aimed at small, manageable changes rather than long theoretical talks.
Her approach is collaborative and goal-oriented. She draws on client-centered ideas to listen and reflect what matters most to the client. She also uses solution-focused techniques to clarify next steps and try simple experiments between sessions.
Sessions include talk work that looks at specific moments where guilt or shame shows up. She helps people name those feelings and test different responses one step at a time. The work often involves improving communication and rebuilding confidence in everyday situations.
Bonavy frames progress as a sequence of attempts and adjustments, not a single fix. She encourages practical strategies people can use between meetings, such as short behavioral experiments or focused communication exercises. These are designed to fit into busy lives and to be revisited as needed.
Approaches used in online sessions and how they fit you
Client-centered work emphasizes listening and reflecting back what matters to the client. It focuses on understanding a person's experience and helping them connect with their own strengths and choices. This approach can help when guilt or shame feels like a core part of how someone sees themselves because it starts from the client's own perspective.Solution-focused therapy looks for small, practical changes that can be tried between sessions. It helps set short-term goals and identify concrete steps to test what works. This can be useful for stress, relationship shifts, or rebuilding confidence after difficult events.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaboration means approaches can be adjusted as progress is evaluated and new concerns come up.
Confirm current session options before booking, since formats are not specified here. Online sessions can make it easier to fit meetings into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. They let people try focused communication practice or brief behavioral experiments without rearranging a full day, which can make it easier to test changes in real life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
5+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, low self-esteem, and depression. Additional focuses include communication problems, forgiveness, guilt and shame, isolation, and self-love.
How would she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She helps people name when guilt or shame shows up and then tries practical responses one step at a time. The work often includes communication exercises and short behavioral experiments.
What is her background and experience?
She has five years of professional experience as a therapist. Her work has included stress, anxiety, relationship issues, motivation, self-esteem, and depression.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a California LMFT, which stands for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and practices in California.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with people outside the United States?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.