Joan Becket

Joan Becket is a California-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 26 years of professional experience. She completed her bachelor’s degree in 1982 at Minnesota State University, Mankato, majoring in Minority & Ethnic Studies and Sociology with a minor in African-American Studies, a background that reflects a long-standing commitment to urban communities.

Early in her career she worked at a group home for children with behavioral challenges, and an encounter with one of the children’s therapists inspired her to pursue clinical work. She earned a master’s degree in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from California State University, Los Angeles in 1992 and obtained her LMFT credential in 1997.

Joan has worked professionally in South Central Los Angeles and Compton for more than 30 years, and she has volunteered in church outreach to people experiencing homelessness as well as in programs for commercially sexually exploited children. She has served a government agency for over 32 years overseeing complex cases involving abused and neglected children and addressing their clinical needs, and she has provided clinical supervision to colleagues for 16 years as they worked toward their professional licenses.

Her therapy style is informal and relaxed; she has been told she is honest and direct while also compassionate and caring. As a faith-based therapist, Joan believes spiritual resources can support an abundant life and often explores generational family patterns to help clients understand how family history shapes mindset, behavior, relationship patterns, and overall functioning.

Clinically she integrates a biblical perspective with a range of evidence-informed approaches, including psychodynamic work, family systems and structural therapy, cognitive behavioral techniques, and client-centered methods. She also uses appropriate humor in sessions and collaborates with clients to identify the most helpful interventions. Joan is a certified cognitive behavioral therapy practitioner and holds a California license as a Marriage and Family Therapist (CA LMFT 34060).