Lani Stoner, LMFT

Lani Stoner is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with a long history in mental health care. She aims to help people find more hope, better day-to-day functioning, and healthier relationships. Her style is practical and focused on real goals people bring to therapy.

She began work in the mental health field in 1976 after completing a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. Much of her early career was in county and agency settings, including extended work with adults who had chronic mental illness. After leaving public agency work she ran a private practice offering individual, couples, and family therapy and later provided online volunteer services for military and veteran communities.

Her background includes additional coursework in gerontology and many years working with a wide range of concerns. These include stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction, grief, relationship problems, parenting challenges, sleep issues, ADHD, bipolar mood concerns, compassion fatigue, and issues connected to chronic illness or caregiving. She also notes experience supporting people who identify as LGBTQQIP2SAA.

Her clinical approach tends toward brief, active, and directive methods, though she has also worked longer term when needed. She uses client-centered techniques alongside cognitive behavioral, mindfulness, narrative, and solution-focused methods to address practical problems and daily coping skills.

Lani works in California and conducts work in English. She asks prospective clients to use the site Start Therapy workflow to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule according to therapist availability.

How Lani’s Approaches Work in Online Therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person in front of the therapist. It means the therapist listens closely and follows the client’s concerns to help them find their own solutions; this approach supports work on relationships, grief, and identity-related issues.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors keep problems going and teaches practical skills to change them. It is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and coping with life changes.

Mindfulness therapy helps people notice their thoughts and bodily responses without immediately reacting. It can reduce stress, aid emotion regulation, and support coping with chronic pain or caregiving strain.

Choosing the best method is a shared process. The therapist will talk with each person about their needs, goals, and preferences and then try approaches that fit those priorities. Adjustments are made along the way if something isn’t helping.

If you are considering online work, confirm current session options before booking since formats are not listed here. Online therapy can make scheduling easier, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when days are busy. It also makes it possible to continue work during life transitions or when attending in-person sessions would be difficult.