- CBT methods
- DBT skills
- Solution-Focused work
About Soraya
Soraya Avalos is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California with 15 years of professional experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. Soraya also lists attention to guilt and shame alongside issues like attachment, caregiver stress, and communication problems.
Her approach is practical and conversational. She uses techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy to help people notice patterns and try new ways of responding. Motivational Interviewing and Internal Family Systems also inform how she helps people sort conflicting internal messages.
Sessions focus on clear goals and small steps. Soraya will talk through what matters most to the client and outline ways to practice new skills between meetings. She pays attention to how past relationships shape current feelings and choices without labeling or lecturing.
She often works with people coping with separation, parenting strain, pregnancy and childbirth concerns, or mood and trauma-related symptoms. Communication difficulties and impulsivity are also common topics she addresses with practical tools and behavioral experiments.
Soraya offers therapy in English and Spanish. She asks new clients to complete a brief questionnaire to match goals and then schedule a first session. Fees vary by location and use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How her clinical approaches shape online sessions
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with small behavioral experiments. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and self-critical thinking that fuels guilt or shame.DBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, provides practical skills for managing strong emotions and reducing impulsive reactions. It includes skills for distress tolerance and emotion regulation that can help when shame or intense guilt becomes overwhelming.
Motivational Interviewing is a conversational style that helps people clarify what they want to change and find their own reasons to act. It can be useful when motivation feels stuck after difficult choices or life transitions.
Soraya treats finding the right approach as a shared process. She will discuss goals and preferences and try methods that fit the person's needs. That collaborative process helps decide whether to emphasize CBT skills, DBT tools, motivational work, or parts-based exploration.
Session formats are not detailed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a workday, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Video or phone sessions may be chosen for low-bandwidth situations or when a quieter setup is preferable, depending on what Soraya offers.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English, Spanish
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she work with?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship strain, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. Guilt and shame are listed among her focus areas.
How does she approach feelings of shame or guilt?
Soraya uses concrete skills from CBT and DBT to help people notice thoughts and manage intense emotions. She also draws on Internal Family Systems to look at conflicting parts that carry shame.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 15 years of professional experience practicing as a therapist in California.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, listed as CA LMFT, and practices from California.
Can sessions be held in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
Does she work with international clients?
International clients are not currently accepted.
What formats are offered for sessions?
Session formats are not specified in the biography; please confirm current session options before booking.
How do I start 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.