Colleen Overholt , LMFT

Colleen Overholt, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California with 26 years of clinical experience. She has served in roles across direct care and program leadership, including psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, program manager, regional director, and executive director, bringing a broad perspective on both individual and systemic needs across settings such as private practice, schools, clinics, and community field work.

Her practice focuses on a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, self-esteem, depression, relationship and family challenges, sleep difficulties, parenting, anger, career concerns, bipolar disorder, and coping with life changes. She is also experienced supporting people with compassion fatigue, ADHD, aging and geriatric issues, caregiver stress, chronic illness and disability, attachment and abandonment concerns, and other complex life stressors.

Colleen adopts an empathetic, client-centered stance that treats each person as having unique strengths to discover and build upon. She offers structure, guidance, and motivation when needed while allowing the client and their goals to direct the work. She commonly integrates cognitive behavioral techniques to identify and shift unhelpful thinking patterns and incorporates mindfulness and psychodynamic ideas when they fit the client’s needs. Colleen honors diversity and works to affirm each person’s worth throughout the therapeutic process.

As an LMFT – a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist trained to address relational and individual concerns – she emphasizes the therapeutic relationship as a primary vehicle for change, aiming to make therapy an empowering and rewarding experience.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Colleen commonly draws on client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness therapy in her work. Client-centered therapy focuses on creating an accepting, nonjudgmental environment where the therapist follows the client’s pace and priorities, which is helpful for building self-worth and exploring relationship or identity concerns. CBT involves identifying and testing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and developing practical skills to manage symptoms like anxiety, depression, or sleep difficulties. Mindfulness therapy teaches present-moment awareness and grounding practices that can reduce reactivity and support coping with trauma, stress, and chronic emotional pain.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Colleen works collaboratively with clients to determine what methods fit best based on their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts interventions over time so therapy stays relevant and responsive to change.

Online therapy offers flexibility to meet people where they are, with options for video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These formats make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules, continue care during life transitions, and maintain consistency when in-person visits are difficult, while still allowing licensed professionals and therapists to engage meaningfully in the work.