Dr. Estella Lerlo , LMFT

Dr. Estella Lerlo is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist with 14 years of clinical experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and intimacy-related concerns. Dr. Lerlo aims to create a calm space where people can speak openly and feel heard as they take the first steps toward change.

She uses straightforward, practical talk in sessions. That often means naming patterns, trying small behavior changes, and practicing new ways to connect with others. Many clients work on repairing trust, improving communication, or reducing anxious thoughts about relationships and life stress.

Her approach draws on attachment ideas and emotion-focused methods to look at how early patterns shape current responses. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques are used to spot unhelpful thinking and try different actions that shift mood and behavior. Mindfulness practices are introduced to help with grounding and reducing reactivity.

Sessions tend to be collaborative and paced to each person. Dr. Lerlo listens for what matters most, then helps set short-term goals and simple experiments between sessions. She also addresses practical concerns like money stress, career strain, and the ripple effects of trauma.

People coming for help with intimacy, self-esteem, or recovery from abuse find the work both concrete and relational. The focus is on learning skills that can be used day to day, while also making room for deeper emotional repair. This fits well for anyone seeking a thoughtful, steady therapist in California.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early bonds influence present relationships. Online sessions use conversation and targeted exercises to notice those patterns and try new ways of relating. Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on the emotional interactions that shape connection and distress. In remote work this often means naming emotions in the moment and using role-play or guided dialogue to change interaction habits.

Finding the right approach is a shared task. The therapist will talk with each person about what feels most urgent and what fits their style. Together they decide whether to emphasize attachment work, emotion-focused exercises, or cognitive strategies and then adjust over time based on progress and feedback.

Online formats offer flexible ways to do this work. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can fit a quick check-in or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief reflections, homework check-ins, or when typing helps someone organize thoughts. These options make it easier to maintain consistency and integrate therapy into a busy life.