Colleen Overholt, LMFT

Colleen Overholt, LMFT, helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and midlife changes. She guides clients through grief, career shifts, parenting strain, relationship conflict, and struggles with self-esteem. Her tone is straightforward and encouraging, aimed at people who need practical steps and human connection.

Colleen draws on 26 years as a licensed marriage and family therapist in California. She has worked in private practice, schools, clinics, and community programs. That background means she is familiar with a wide range of life situations and the kinds of barriers that get in the way of change.

Her style is supportive and direct. She asks what the person wants from therapy and adjusts the work to meet those goals. She offers structure, guidance, and motivation while inviting clients to speak up about their needs and preferences.

Colleen commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify and change unhelpful thinking patterns. She also uses client-centered and mindfulness approaches to help people notice strengths and build steady routines. Some sessions draw on psychodynamic ideas to look at long-standing relationship patterns and family-of-origin issues.

People who work with her can expect practical tools, reflective conversation, and attention to strengths. She aims to make therapy empowering and useful, not just a place to talk. The focus is on real-life shifts that make daily living easier and more meaningful.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, respect, and building therapeutic trust. In practice this means the therapist follows the person's lead, reflects what they hear, and helps the client identify their own goals and strengths. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and offers concrete exercises to change unhelpful patterns, which can help with anxiety, depression, and stress. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve focus, useful for sleep problems, anger, and chronic stress.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try strategies, and adjust methods based on what helps. That shared exploration means techniques can be mixed over time to match changing needs and priorities.

The original biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Many people find online sessions easier to fit into workdays, caregiving schedules, or long commutes. Others appreciate shorter check-ins by phone when a full video meeting is hard to arrange, or using video when visual connection helps with interactive exercises. Online work can make it simpler to apply CBT tools and mindfulness practices in daily routines, since sessions happen where problems actually arise.