Hi, I’m Candace (she/her). I’m a registered associate marriage and family therapist providing online psychotherapy to individuals and couples across California. My approach is grounded in compassion and curiosity, creating a warm space where you can explore your inner world with kindness and openness.

I strive to create a nurturing environment where you can look beneath the surface to uncover the emotions, beliefs, and experiences that shape your thoughts, behaviors, and relationships. By gently examining the different parts of ourselves—the hopes, fears, wounds, and strengths—we gain valuable insight and self-awareness. This deeper understanding empowers you to navigate life’s challenges with greater clarity and resilience.

Therapy with me isn’t about “fixing” you—it’s about helping you reconnect with your own strength, your voice, and your ability to create meaningful change. As you build a deeper relationship with yourself, you’ll find more clarity in how you navigate challenges and more closeness in the relationships that matter most.

If you’d like to explore working together, you can email me at candace.hammer.therapy@gmail.com.

I see therapy as a place where change begins through relationship. When someone feels truly heard and accepted, new possibilities emerge: old patterns soften, self-compassion grows, and healing becomes possible. I believe we all carry inner wisdom, even when it’s buried under pain or self-doubt, and that therapy can help bring that wisdom forward. I view therapy as a process of discovering your inherent resilience and learning to meet life’s challenges with clarity and self-trust.

I work from an IFS-informed (Internal Family Systems) perspective and hold a non-pathologizing view of mental health. I believe that every part of us—whether it shows up as fear, anger, grief, or hope—carries wisdom and deserves compassion. Rather than labeling these experiences as “problems,” I invite curiosity so we can understand the stories and needs each part holds.

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a professional actor. That creative background shaped my appreciation for the full range of human emotion and informs a spirit of creativity and co-creation in the therapy room. I view each session as a collaborative process where we discover together what healing and growth can look like for you.

I have worked with individuals, couples, and families through a range of traumatic experiences, including sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, and incest. I also support clients facing anxiety, depression, relational difficulties, life transitions, and the process of self-discovery.

I earned my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Alliant International University as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from New York University. I have additional training in IFS-informed trauma treatment and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and I continue to pursue advanced study to deepen and expand my practice.

My work is trauma-responsive and grounded in the understanding that overwhelming experiences can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves and our emotions. Together we create a steady, supportive space to process those experiences safely and at your own pace, helping you reconnect with a sense of wholeness. I value authenticity, creativity, and collaboration, and aim to offer a relationship where you feel genuinely seen and supported as you heal, explore, and grow.

• Young Adult: 18-25
• Adults: 26-65
• Seniors: 65+

• Individuals
• Couples
• Polyamorous relationship groupings
• Families

• Anxiety
• Complex Trauma, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
• Depression
• Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
• Medical Trauma and Healing
• Parenting
• Self-Esteem/Worth/Compassion
• Spiritual or Religious Trauma/Abuse

• Expressive Arts Therapy
• Family Systems
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
• Relational Therapy
• Trauma-Informed

• Buddhism
• Catholicism
• Christianity
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS, Mormonism)
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Judaism
• Non-Religious / Secular / Atheist / Agnostic
• Sikhism
• Spiritual (non-specific)

• Credit Card

$125 per 50-minute session for individuals; $150 per 50-minute session for multi-client relationships

$100 - $150

• Weekdays

Please reach out via email to schedule a free 20-minute consultation: candace.hammer.therapy@gmail.com.

Tracy Smith, PsyD #24366

10/01/2025