About Nichelle
Nichelle Alva is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people facing stress and anxiety. She works with clients who are navigating relationship strain, LGBT concerns, trauma and abuse, and depression. Her tone is direct and respectful, and she aims to make first steps feel manageable for people who are nervous about starting therapy.
She has practiced for 10 years in California as an LMFT and draws on several approaches to tailor sessions.
Background and approach
Conversations are shaped around the person's needs, with clear goals and practical strategies when helpful. Sessions focus on building skills, understanding patterns, and strengthening communication. Nichelle uses client-centered listening to make space for each person's experience.
She also incorporates cognitive behavioral techniques to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. For intense emotional regulation and relationship skills, she may bring in dialectical behavior therapy tools. Her style is collaborative and straightforward.
She works with people to set achievable steps and to test what helps between sessions. For those dealing with trauma or ongoing stress, she pairs symptom-focused strategies with attention to personal values and priorities. People who choose her can expect clear explanations, practical homework when useful, and a steady emphasis on respectful, nonjudgmental care.
She supports people as they work toward more comfortable daily functioning and clearer relationships.
How talk therapy methods translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on active listening and reflecting back what someone says to help them feel heard and understood. This approach helps people clarify their priorities and make decisions that fit their life circumstances. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses practical exercises to change patterns that increase anxiety or low mood. Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, teaches skills for regulating emotions, reducing crisis reactions, and improving communication in tense moments.Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will ask about goals, stressors, and what has or hasn't helped before, then recommend methods that fit those needs. Clients and therapist adjust the plan over time, testing tools and keeping the process collaborative.
Online therapy offers flexibility so sessions can fit into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation without travel, phone sessions can be a lower-bandwidth option, and live chat or text-based messaging can work for quick check-ins or when writing feels easier. These formats make it simpler to keep regular appointments, try skills between meetings, and maintain continuity of care across changing schedules.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also listed
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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