Gia Castiglia Schwarzer, LMFT

Gia Castiglia Schwarzer is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with seven years of clinical experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, relationship concerns, parenting strain, and issues with self-esteem and addiction. Gia also supports those coping with trauma, intimacy difficulties, anger, depression, compassion fatigue, and life transitions. She has a focus on young adult issues and draws on practical strategies to make progress in everyday life.

Gia earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science from the University of California, Irvine. She completed a Master of Arts in Psychology at Chapman University in Orange, California. After gaining her license she spent time raising a family and later returned to counseling work in both private practice and school settings.

Her approach centers on helping people locate strengths they already have and apply those strengths to solve current problems. Gia uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tools alongside interpersonal methods to notice unhelpful thinking and shift patterns that keep problems going. Sessions are collaborative and focused on concrete skills clients can use between meetings.

Gia has experience using equine-assisted methods through certifications in Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association roles as both a mental health practitioner and an equine specialist. She combines hands-on and talk-based work depending on what fits each person best.

Clients who start therapy with Gia can expect short-term, practical steps and attention to the real demands of daily life. She aims to make the work straightforward, respectful, and tailored to each person's goals.

How CBT and online sessions work together

Gia uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in straightforward ways to identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT involves learning practical skills to change thinking patterns and habits that feed anxiety, depression, or relationship tension. It is useful when someone wants clear steps to try between sessions.

She pairs CBT with interpersonal ideas that look at how relationships and communication affect mood and stress. These approaches help with parenting challenges, relationship concerns, and navigating life transitions by focusing on small, testable changes. Deciding which approach to use is a shared process - the therapist and client work together to match methods to the client's goals, needs, and preferences.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video is helpful for deeper conversations and skill practice, phone sessions can fit a short break at work or require less bandwidth, and chat or text messaging can support quick check-ins or ongoing encouragement. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while using CBT tools and interpersonal work in practical ways.