About Janet
Janet Giles is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in California who brings 21 years of experience to her work. She aims to make first steps less scary and helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship strain, parenting challenges, trauma, or ADHD-related concerns. She emphasizes a thoughtful, straightforward approach so clients know what to expect.
Janet has worked in a range of clinical settings and has taught psychology courses as an adjunct professor.
Background and approach
Her teaching included lifespan development, child and adolescent development, theories of personality, and psychopathology. That classroom experience informs how she explains problems and plans next steps with clients. In sessions she leans on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client- and strength-based ideas, and mindfulness exercises.
She mixes these approaches depending on the issue at hand and adjusts methods when something else seems more helpful. Expect practical tools you can try between sessions. Janet also brings a creative sensibility to therapy.
She is an artist who exhibits work and enjoys sewing, knitting, and chess. That creativity shows up in flexible ways of working with people who feel stuck or overwhelmed. She believes the working relationship matters most.
The focus is on listening carefully, building trust, and helping clients find clearer coping strategies and better patterns over time.
Therapeutic approaches and online flexibility
Janet commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try new behaviors. This approach often helps with anxiety, depression, anger, and day-to-day stress by breaking problems into clear steps.She also draws on strength-focused and client-centered methods that highlight a person’s skills and resilience. These ideas support people facing grief, caregiver strain, codependency, or relationship struggles by building on what already works for them.
Mindfulness practices are used to build awareness of thoughts and bodily responses. Simple exercises can reduce reactivity and help with overwhelm after trauma or during periods of high stress.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals and preferences, try methods that fit those aims, and adjust the plan together as work progresses.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different needs. Video is useful for deeper conversations and visual cues, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat can fit a quick check-in, and messaging supports brief reflections between sessions. These formats make scheduling easier and help people maintain continuity during busy weeks.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does she address?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What is her background and experience?
What credential does she hold and where is she located?
Which languages are offered for sessions?
Can people outside the United States work with her?
What session formats are available?
How are costs and scheduling handled?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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