The Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center offers practical, goal-oriented therapy to help adults, teens and children make positive changes in their lives. We specialize in schema therapy and cognitive behavior therapy for chronic anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders as well as personality disorders. We stand out for our passion for helping our clients learn new skills to achieve their goals, our understanding and caring for our clients, and our relentless pursuit of advanced training and knowledge to deliver more effective therapy for our clients. All of our Staff Therapists receive weekly training in the best practices in CBT and Schema Therapy and have numerous advanced training programs and certifications under their belt. We aim to help our clients increase positive emotions, optimism and resilience while letting go of unhelpful thoughts, emotions and behaviors.Laura L.C. Johnson, MA, MBA, LMFT, LPCC, is the Founder and Center Director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center with offices in the Silicon Valley (Saratoga, CA) and Sacramento Valley (Roseville, CA). Laura is one of the few therapists who is both an Advanced Certified Schema Therapist with the International Society of Schema Therapy and a Certified Cognitive Therapist with the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.As a lifelong learner, Laura has completed the NJ-NYC Schema Therapy Institute’s Advanced Certified Schema Therapy Program, the advanced CBT Extramural Program at the Beck Institute, the Intensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program at BehavioralTech and numerous certificate programs in anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Laura has two master’s degrees from Santa Clara University and Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami. In addition, Laura has a unique background as a psychotherapist with a Columbia MBA and hands-on senior management experience at Fortune 500 companies.For more information about us, please visit www.CognitiveBehaviorTherapyCenter.com.
I have been providing counseling for the last 20 years and my training continues to progress. I am currently working towards certification as a Schema Therapist. My areas of specialty include treating trauma, depression and anxiety in teens and adults. In addition to working from a schema orientation, I am also trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy and psychodynamic theories. My work experience includes providing brief individual and group counseling in inpatient psychiatric facilities to both adults and children and long- term psychotherapy in outpatient programs. I have been employed as a therapist at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco for the last 8 years and have been counseling clients in private practice since 2011.
Since 1999 I have worked successfully with adult clients dealing with a wide range of issues including personality disorders, post-traumatic stress, abuse issues, substance abuse, self-injury, and related relationship and mental health concerns. I specialize in and enjoy working with challenging problems that have been resistant to change. I run ongoing treatment groups for Borderline Personality Disorder and a Family Support Group for people who have loved ones dealing with personality disorders. I use a variety of therapeutic approaches including Schema and Cognitive therapy, the Developmental Model of couple’s therapy, mindfulness, skills building, stress reduction and psycho-education, and “anything that works”, all within a context that is supportive, client-centered, and recovery focused. I am a Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and am currently working towards certification as a Schema Therapist. I am licensed in California as a Marriage and Family Therapist (#39579), a Professional Clinical Counselor (#551) and a National Certified Counselor (#57159). I practice in San Luis Obispo, in beautiful central California.
Talking to a new therapist is a huge step, I know. I will do my best to help you feel the relief of having someone who is on your side. I have 15 years of clinical experience, and extensive training in several approaches, including psychodynamic, CBT and Schema Therapy. I bring extensive experience from work with Complex PTSD, depression, anxiety and personality disorders. I respect each of my clients as exceptional, adjusting my style to keep a dynamic energy going and be productive but never pushy. Between sessions I may use homework to make our treatment more convenient and effective.
