About James
Dr. James Chavers offers a calm, listening presence for people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, addiction, or life transitions. He introduces himself simply and focuses on practical help.
He works with adults on concerns from mood and trauma to intimacy and sleep. He practices in California and holds the credential CA Psychologist 32025. He trained in clinical psychology at Antioch University Santa Barbara and has nine years of experience in a range of settings.
Background and approach
His work has included locked settings such as jails and prisons, community health clinics, and college environments. He has supported older adults living with HIV, people preparing to leave incarceration, and students navigating college life. In sessions he uses approaches like Somatic methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, and Client-Centered Therapy.
That means he pays attention to both body sensations and thoughts, helps people notice what matters to them, and works from the client’s own goals. He emphasizes practical steps alongside listening. He brings a humanistic outlook to his work, treating each person with respect and assuming they know their life best.
He aims to support and offer suggestions while staying alongside clients as they try new ways of coping. He describes good therapeutic fit as similar to a steady friend who both accepts and challenges you. Sessions are offered in English and conducted online by video, phone, live chat, or text messaging.
To begin, people follow the platform steps to match and schedule with him.
How his approaches translate to online therapy
Somatic-informed work pays attention to bodily sensations as clues to stress and emotional patterns; online sessions can include guided body awareness and breath-based practices that help people spot and ease tension. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying what matters to a person and taking small committed actions toward those values while learning to sit with difficult thoughts. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and collaboration, meeting the person where they are and shaping sessions around their priorities.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process. He works together with each person to see what feels most helpful, adjusting methods as goals and needs become clearer. The choice of approaches is collaborative and can shift over time as progress is made.
Online formats - video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging - make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and guided exercises, while phone and text options offer greater convenience for brief check-ins or days when coming on camera is hard. These formats increase flexibility and help people keep momentum between sessions.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does he address?
What is his general therapy style like?
What experience does he bring?
What are his credentials and where is he located?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Can people outside the United States work with him?
How are sessions offered online?
How does the cost and scheduling work?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- HIV / AIDS
- Immigration issues
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English