LMFT
Cheryl Leong, LMFT
- Experience18 years
- LocationCalifornia
- Focus areasLGBT, Relationship, and Coping with life changes
- Therapy approachesInternal Family Systems and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Review online therapy options and next steps on BetterHelp.
About Cheryl
Cheryl Leong is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California with 18 years of clinical experience. She combines a warm, compassionate presence with direct, honest feedback to help clients identify immediate needs and practical next steps.
Background and approach
Her work emphasizes mindfulness practices alongside pragmatic tools so clients can apply skills between sessions and see tangible progress in a relatively brief timeframe. Cheryl structures short-term work around clear goals, typically supporting clients through one to eight sessions while focusing on areas such as LGBT concerns, relationship issues, coping with life changes, coaching, and ADHD.
Her practice reflects a commitment to cultural humility and LGBTQIA+ affirmation, and she intentionally creates an environment that welcomes immigrants and people from diverse backgrounds. Cheryl aims to clarify goals quickly and offer strategies tailored to each person’s situation and values.
Integrating therapeutic approaches for online care
Internal Family Systems (IFS) invites clients to notice and understand the different parts of themselves, offering a way to work with inner conflicts and emotional responses by cultivating a compassionate relationship with those parts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and building practical strategies to change behaviors and emotional reactions, which can be useful for ADHD, coping with life transitions, and relationship stress. Mindfulness Therapy emphasizes present-moment awareness and gentle acceptance, providing tools to manage anxiety, increase emotional regulation, and reduce reactivity.
Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic work, and Cheryl treats it as a collaborative process. She helps clients clarify their goals and experiments with methods that fit their needs, values, and pace, adjusting the focus as progress unfolds. This collaborative stance supports short-term work that aims to be both focused and flexible.
Online therapy with Cheryl is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which helps make scheduling more adaptable to busy lives and varying time zones within the same country. These options allow clients to engage in therapy from their own environment and continue applying skills between sessions while keeping appointments consistent with their routine.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
18+ years
Licensed
California
Languages
English