Peter Jastermsky, LCSW

Peter Jastermsky is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 35 years of practice. He has held active licenses in California and Pennsylvania and has experience across employee assistance, outpatient mental health, and substance use settings. He also has experience supervising and training other therapists.

He offers individual counseling for adults ages 21 and up who live in California. His style is supportive and conversational. Sessions begin wherever a person is in their life and move at a pace that feels manageable.

Peter frames therapy as collaborative problem solving. He helps people look at choices, weigh consequences, and set concrete goals. He focuses on practical steps a person can take to move forward when they feel stuck.

Common concerns he addresses include stress, anxiety, grief, depression, midlife crisis, career questions, addictions, and relationship and intimacy-related issues. He also helps with caregiver strain, aging and geriatric issues, and workplace and money worries.

His approaches include client-centered methods, cognitive behavioral techniques, existential thinking, mindfulness, and solution-focused strategies. In sessions he listens first, and then suggests small experiments and skills people can use between meetings. He encourages people to try one meaningful step that fits their life.

Approaches that guide online work

Client-centered therapy places the person at the center of sessions. The therapist listens closely, reflects what he hears, and supports the client's own sense of direction. This approach is useful for people who want a collaborative, nonjudgmental space to sort through feelings and decisions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on practical skills. It helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and situations where small changes can lead to clearer results.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with clients about goals and preferences and suggest methods that fit those aims. That means trying an idea, checking how it worked, and adjusting the plan as needed in collaboration.

Confirm current online session options before booking, since formats are not specified here. Many people find online sessions helpful because they can fit appointments into a busy day, avoid travel, and use different session lengths or styles depending on need. Online work can make it easier to keep momentum between sessions and to practice skills in real life while staying connected to a licensed professional.