Dr. Andrea Shirley , LMFT

Dr. Andrea Shirley greets people who are carrying heavy worries and want a calmer life. She is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist with 27 years of experience. She focuses on practical support for stress, anxiety, relationship strain, and many concerns tied to women's lives including body image, intimacy, and caregiving strain.

Her sessions start with listening. She treats each person as the expert on their own story. Then she helps pick small, doable steps to ease pressure and restore balance. Many clients come for help with grief, trauma, sleep problems, or issues tied to identity and LGBT concerns.

Andrea uses straightforward, conversational therapy that centers what matters most to the client. She draws on client-centered and narrative ideas to help people reframe difficult experiences and notice strengths they already have. Solution-focused tools are used to set short-term goals and try practical changes between sessions.

She has worked across a wide range of life challenges, from chronic illness and caregiving stress to career transitions and blended family issues. That background informs a flexible approach that adapts to each person's situation and pace.

People who prefer a calm, respectful conversation about real problems often find her style helpful. She supports clients through major life changes, trauma recovery, and efforts to build better communication and healthier relationships.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and responding to what each person says matters most. Online sessions using this approach give space to tell your story and shape goals at your own pace, which helps when dealing with stress, relationship strain, or self-esteem concerns.

Narrative Therapy helps people separate themselves from difficult events by looking at the stories they tell about their lives. In video or phone sessions, this approach supports revising unhelpful narratives and highlighting personal strengths, useful for issues like identity, grief, or attachment worries.

Solution-Focused Therapy zeros in on practical steps and small changes that can be tried between sessions. This is especially helpful with sleep problems, coping with life changes, or building better communication, and it adapts well to short check-ins via live chat or text messaging.

Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to a person's goals, preferences, and day-to-day realities and then suggest which methods to try first. Plans are adjusted over time based on what is helpful, so clients take part in deciding the direction of their work.

Online formats offer flexibility for busy schedules. Video calls work well when a fuller conversation is needed, phone sessions can fit a break at work or require less bandwidth, and live chat or text messaging are useful for quick check-ins or brief coaching between appointments. These options make it easier to keep momentum and access consistent support.