About Estella
Dr. Estella Lerlo is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 14 years of clinical work in California. She focuses on stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, and self-esteem.
She speaks English and supports people from a range of backgrounds who are ready to address these concerns. Her room is straightforward and calm. She aims to make it easy to talk about things that feel heavy.
Sessions are a place to name what’s happening, try new ways of coping, and notice what changes.
Background and approach
She keeps language plain and practical so parents and busy adults can follow along. Dr. Lerlo uses a mix of approaches tailored to each person.
That can mean looking at attachment patterns that shape relationships, using cognitive strategies to shift unhelpful thoughts, or learning skills to stay present through stress. She also draws on relationship-focused methods when intimacy or trust are central concerns. Her style balances the emotional side of problems with concrete tools.
Expect both talk and exercises you can use between sessions. She pays attention to how past experiences influence current struggles and to practical steps that reduce daily stress. People who connect with her often want straightforward guidance and a steady therapist who listens.
Practical strategies and clear language are part of the work. If you want help managing anxiety, repairing relationship patterns, or recovering after trauma, she offers an organized, compassionate approach.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationship patterns affect current bonds. Online sessions can help identify those patterns and practice different ways of connecting during conversations and exercises. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT exercises and thought records can be completed during video sessions or sent as messages to use between appointments. Emotionally-Focused Therapy concentrates on feelings and the cycle of interaction between partners or individuals; it helps people name emotions and shift unhelpful interaction patterns over time.Choosing the right method is a shared process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they try approaches and adjust the plan if something does not fit, so the work stays practical and relevant.
Online formats offer useful flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions are a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let people share thoughts between sessions and keep momentum on busy days. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or family schedules while using the approaches above to address anxiety and relationship issues.
Questions people ask
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What is her therapy style and approach?
How much clinical experience does she have?
Where is she licensed and practicing?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
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How are sessions billed and what does therapy cost?
What is the process to begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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