Karena Franses, LCSW

Licensed in California · 28 years in practice

Karena Franses is a licensed clinical social worker with 28 years of experience helping people navigate addiction, grief, relationship strain, and mood concerns.

License and registration

LCSW, California: 18975 · expires July 2026
NPI: 1093320723 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 28
Languages: English

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About Karena

Karena Franses is a licensed clinical social worker with 28 years of experience helping people navigate addiction, grief, relationship strain, and mood concerns. She practices in California and brings a calm, steady presence to conversations about hard topics. She draws on long experience in hospital and outpatient settings to guide practical steps forward.

Karena spent many years as a social work supervisor in an outpatient HIV clinic, where she supported people through illness, loss, and the challenges of addiction and trauma.

Background and approach

She also ran a personal psychotherapy practice focused on psychodynamic work with individuals and couples. Those different settings shaped her ability to listen for what matters most and to respond with both realism and compassion. Her approach blends motivational interviewing and psychodynamic ideas.

Motivational interviewing helps people find reasons to make changes and to weigh options. Psychodynamic work looks at how past patterns influence present choices and relationships. Karena says kindness and daily meditation inform her work.

She aims to create space where clients can notice difficult feelings, talk about them plainly, and try new ways of coping. Her style is patient, reflective, and goal-oriented when change is needed. People who come to her often want help with anxiety, depression, bipolar challenges, intimacy and self-esteem, body image, or life transitions.

She also addresses caregiver stress, eating and substance concerns, HIV/AIDS related issues, and end-of-life matters. Sessions are offered in English and can be arranged online or by other formats.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Karena lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Approaches Karena names

Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.

Online support

How her approaches work online

Karena uses motivational interviewing to help people identify their own reasons for change and to move toward practical steps. This approach is useful for addiction, ambivalence about treatment, and behavior changes where motivation is a key hurdle.

She also draws on psychodynamic therapy to look at long-standing patterns that repeat in relationships and mood. That work helps when people want to understand why they react a certain way and to shift patterns that cause distress.

Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. She will listen to concerns, goals, and preferences and then suggest which methods to try first. Together the client and therapist adjust the plan as progress and new issues arise.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different needs. Video is useful for in-depth sessions where visual cues matter. Phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is limited or for a focused check-in. Live chat and text messaging offer shorter, more frequent check-ins and can fit into busy schedules. These options make it easier to maintain regular contact and adapt therapy to everyday life.

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Questions people ask

What kinds of concerns does she address?

She works with addictions, anxiety, depression, bipolar conditions, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, and self-esteem concerns among other life stressors.

How would you describe her therapeutic style?

She blends motivational interviewing for change-oriented work with psychodynamic thinking about past patterns, offering a patient and reflective style.

How much clinical experience does she bring?

She has 28 years of experience, including long-term roles in a county hospital outpatient HIV clinic and a personal psychotherapy practice.

Where is she based and what credential does she hold?

She is located in California and holds a Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential, listed as LCSW.

Which languages and international arrangements are supported?

Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.

What session formats are available?

Sessions can be held by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.

How is cost structured for sessions?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin working together?

Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling according to therapist availability.

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