- Motivational guidance
- Reflective therapy
- Calm steady presence
About Karena
Karena Franses is an LCSW with 28 years of experience offering steady, compassionate care in California. She brings decades of direct clinical work in hospital and private-practice settings to help people facing addiction, depression, anxiety, grief, and relationship struggles. Her approach is grounded in listening and kindness. People who want a thoughtful, reflective counselor often find her calm presence helpful.
Karena spent over two decades as a social work supervisor in a busy outpatient HIV clinic, where she supported a diverse patient population through trauma, addiction, and life transitions. She also ran a small psychodynamic practice focused on individual and couples work, where relationship patterns and inner experience were central topics. Those experiences shaped how she balances practical guidance with deeper reflection.
Daily meditation and a longtime Buddhist practice inform her tone in sessions. That background brings a steady, compassionate stance and an emphasis on inner resources. She often helps people notice what gets in the way of change and how small shifts can ease suffering.
Karena uses Motivational Interviewing to support people struggling with addiction and change, and psychodynamic ideas to look at longstanding patterns and relational wounds. She tends to combine active collaboration with space for reflection, tailoring the work to each person’s needs.
She welcomes conversations about stress, codependency, body-image issues, caregiver strain, intimacy concerns, and life purpose. If these topics feel close to home, she invites you to reach out and explore the next steps together.
How her approaches translate to online care
Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative way of talking that helps people find their own reasons for change. It is often used when someone struggles with substance use, ambivalence about treatment, or making life changes. Sessions focus on drawing out personal motivation and planning small steps.Psychodynamic Therapy looks at long-standing patterns and how past relationships shape current feelings and behavior. It helps when people want to understand recurring problems in relationships, persistent mood patterns, or where difficult emotions come from. This work often involves thoughtful reflection over time.
Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. She will work with each person to decide whether motivational methods, psychodynamic reflection, or a mix fits best. The plan is shaped by your goals, concerns, and what feels most useful in session.
The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example, it may allow shorter check-ins between obligations, reduce travel time, or let someone choose a nonvideo session when bandwidth is limited. Licensed professionals can adapt motivational and psychodynamic techniques to remote conversations while focusing on practical steps and careful reflection.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
28+ years
Credentials
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she commonly address?
She works with people facing addiction, depression, anxiety, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, bipolar concerns, and stress. Additional focuses include codependency, body image, caregiver strain, and life-purpose questions.
What is her general therapy style?
She combines a compassionate, reflective stance with practical motivation techniques. Sessions aim to clarify barriers to change and support small, workable steps forward.
How long has she been practicing?
She brings 28 years of clinical experience from both hospital and private-practice settings. That history includes supervision and direct care in an outpatient HIV clinic and individual psychotherapy work.
What credentials and location are listed for her?
She holds a Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential - LCSW - and practices in California.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are accepted.
What session formats are available?
The original biography does not specify session formats, so please confirm current options before booking to learn how sessions are offered.
How is cost handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability, and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.