Daniel Smolen, LCSW

Daniel Smolen, LCSW, helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship strain. He works with parents dealing with parenting and blended family issues, and with caregivers managing ongoing stress. He also supports people coping with trauma, anger, self-harm thoughts, and struggles with self-esteem or social anxiety.

He approaches sessions as a partnership. He treats clients as the experts in their own lives and looks for strengths to build on. Conversations are practical and plain. The goal is to find small, realistic steps that make day-to-day life feel more manageable.

Daniel draws on methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Therapy. With CBT he helps people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and try different behaviors. With mindfulness he teaches simple attention and breathing skills to reduce reactivity and calm the nervous system.

Over 30 years in practice in California have given him experience with a wide range of concerns, including post-traumatic stress and disruptive mood dysregulation. He is trained and licensed as an LCSW in California and offers sessions in English.

He recognizes that getting started can feel hard. The usual first steps are a brief intake and a conversation about goals. From there he and each client map out short-term priorities and practical ways to track progress.

How CBT and Mindfulness translate to online work

Daniel uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. CBT sessions often include specific exercises and simple homework to practice between meetings, which can be reviewed together online.

He also uses Mindfulness Therapy to teach attention and breathing skills that reduce reactivity and improve calm. Mindfulness practices in sessions are short and concrete, so they can be practiced during daily routines as well as between appointments.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has helped in the past. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as needed based on what works.

Confirm the current session options before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, for example by avoiding travel time or allowing a shorter check-in during a work break. It also lets people use written notes or recorded mindfulness exercises between meetings to reinforce progress.