- Guilt and shame
- Communication skills
- Self-esteem work
About Laura
Laura Spera is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California with 14 years of experience. She works with adults carrying stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, and struggles with self-esteem and addictions. She also includes concerns such as guilt and shame among the issues she helps people address.
She uses straightforward conversation and practical skills in sessions. Clients talk through what triggers their guilt or shame, notice patterns in relationships, and practice different ways of responding when old habits show up. Sessions focus on clear steps rather than jargon so people can try things between meetings.
Her background includes long clinical experience in outpatient settings. That experience informs a blend of approaches aimed at changing unhelpful thinking and improving emotional awareness. She draws on therapies that look at how beliefs, past relationships, and daily behavior interact.
In practice she works on communication, boundaries, and reconnecting with personal values. She helps people weigh forgiveness or making amends alongside self-forgiveness and self-respect. Therapy often includes short exercises, reflection on relationship patterns, and skills for managing intense feelings.
Sessions are practical and paced to each person's concerns. People often come for help with workplace stress, social anxiety, attachment wounds, or the leftover shame from past decisions. The focus stays on what can change now and how to take small, concrete steps forward.
Approaches used in online sessions and practical fit
Laura uses evidence-based techniques that aim to change unhelpful thoughts and improve emotional awareness. One common approach focuses on identifying and shifting thinking patterns that fuel guilt and anxiety; it helps people test old beliefs and try different responses in everyday situations.Another approach emphasizes understanding attachment and relationship patterns. This helps people see how early relationship dynamics show up now and gives concrete ways to change interactions and set clearer boundaries.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. She collaborates with each person to decide which methods suit their needs, goals, and preferences. That means trying strategies, checking what helps, and adapting the plan together rather than following a preset path.
Confirm the available session formats before booking since the biography does not list them. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Some formats also let people use audio-only if they prefer less screen time, while others work better when seeing facial cues is helpful. Ask about options so sessions can be arranged to fit into everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
14+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of guilt or shame does she address?
She works with guilt and shame related to relationships, past decisions, and family or faith influences among other concerns.
How does she approach feelings of guilt?
Her approach uses clear conversation and practical exercises to identify unhelpful thoughts and change responses to guilt over time.
What experience does she bring?
She has 14 years of clinical experience working with stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship concerns.
What are her credentials and location?
She is an LMFT - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in California.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not currently accepting international clients.
What session formats are offered?
Please confirm current session options before booking as the biography does not list specific formats.
How does payment work and what does it cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with a first session?
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.