Elizabeth Harding, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Petaluma, CA
Welcome. I'm Elizabeth Harding, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #135626) in private practice in Petaluma, California. I offer both in-person therapy sessions at my Petaluma office and telehealth sessions for clients located anywhere in California.
If you've found your way here, you may be carrying something heavy. Relationship strain, anxiety that won't quiet down, a life transition that's left you unsure of your footing, or old patterns that keep showing up no matter how hard you try to change them. This is work I take seriously, and I'm glad you're looking.
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My Approach to Therapy
Therapy, at its best, is a relationship. I work collaboratively with my clients, bringing clinical expertise to the work while also staying attuned to what each person actually needs in the room. I don't believe in one-size-fits-all treatment. The frameworks I draw on are grounded in evidence-based practice, and they're always held alongside genuine curiosity about your particular history, context, and goals.
My training as a Marriage and Family Therapist means I was trained to understand people in the context of their relationships and systems, not just as isolated individuals. Even when someone comes to me for individual therapy, we often find that the relational dynamics in their life are central to what's bringing them in.
I hold a warm, direct style. I will track the patterns I see with you, offer honest observations when they might be useful, and create enough safety for you to do the hard work of honest self-examination. I take humor seriously when it's real, and I take silence seriously when that's what's needed.
Who I Work With
I work with individuals and couples navigating a range of concerns, including:
- Anxiety and chronic stress, including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and the particular exhaustion of always feeling like you need to hold everything together
- Relationship challenges, including communication breakdowns, conflict patterns, intimacy concerns, and the slow drift that can happen between partners
- Life transitions, including career changes, parenthood, loss, relocation, identity shifts, and the disorientation that can accompany major change
- Family of origin work, exploring how the family system you grew up in shaped the patterns you carry into adulthood and current relationships
- Depression and low mood, including the kind that doesn't look like sadness from the outside but feels like flatness, disconnection, or going through the motions
- Identity and self-worth, questions about who you are, what you want, and why the gap between those things keeps feeling so wide
My practice is affirming and welcoming to clients across a broad range of backgrounds, identities, and life circumstances.
Explore My Areas of Focus
Learn more about the specific approaches and specialties that guide my work with individuals and couples.
Couples Therapy
For partners navigating communication breakdowns, recurring conflict, growing distance, or significant rupture.
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For individuals living with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, chronic stress, or the exhaustion of holding it all together.
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For those carrying the weight of past experiences that continue to shape how they move through relationships and daily life.
Learn MoreIFS Therapy
Internal Family Systems offers a compassionate framework for understanding the different parts of yourself and how they work together.
Learn MoreGottman Method
A research-based approach to couples therapy focused on building friendship, managing conflict, and creating shared meaning.
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About My Training and Licensure
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the State of California (LMFT #135626). My training as an MFT included graduate-level coursework and supervised clinical hours in individual, couples, and family therapy, with particular emphasis on systemic and relational approaches to treatment.
Ongoing professional development is a value I take seriously. The field of psychotherapy continues to evolve, and I'm committed to staying current with clinical research and continuing education throughout my career.
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy offers dedicated time and space to examine what's happening in your life and your inner world, with a trained clinician as your thinking partner. Sessions are 50 minutes and held weekly or biweekly, depending on what you're working on and what serves you best.
Many people find that the consistent, focused nature of individual therapy helps them move through things they've been stuck on for years. Not because therapy is magic, but because regular, honest, supported reflection actually changes how the brain organizes experience over time. I take a collaborative approach to setting goals for our work together and revisiting those goals as we progress.
Couples Therapy
When couples come to therapy, they often arrive at the end of a long stretch of trying to figure it out on their own. That's normal, and it's not too late. Couples therapy can help when communication has broken down, when the same fights keep cycling through your relationship, when distance has grown, or when you're navigating a significant rupture and trying to decide what comes next.
I work with couples who are in long-term committed relationships, married or unmarried, and across a range of relationship structures and identities. The work is honest, which means I will track both partners' patterns, not just validate the perspective of whoever scheduled the appointment.
Telehealth and In-Person Sessions
I offer both in-person sessions at my Petaluma office and telehealth sessions conducted via secure video platform. Telehealth sessions are available to California residents statewide. Many clients find telehealth to be an effective and convenient way to maintain consistent therapy even with busy schedules, long commutes, or other logistical constraints.
For clients who are new to therapy or unsure whether telehealth is right for them, I'm happy to discuss format options during an initial consultation.
Location and Contact
My office is located in downtown Petaluma, accessible by car and public transit. Street parking is available in the surrounding area.
Getting Started
The first step is a consultation, a chance for us to talk briefly about what's bringing you in and whether working together feels like a good fit. I encourage you to approach this as a two-way conversation. You're not just looking for any therapist; you're looking for a therapist who is right for you.
To schedule a consultation, please visit my Contact page or call 707-634-4927.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Schedule a Consultation