Holly Starr , LMFT

Holly Starr is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience. She practices in California and supports people working through stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and intimacy-related issues. She also helps with women's issues and life transitions.

Holly listens closely and notices patterns that clients may miss. Sessions are conversational and plainspoken. She asks questions, reflects what she hears, and helps people put feelings into words so the next step is clearer.

Her background includes a BA in English Literature and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Early work on a suicide prevention hotline and as a grief therapist and supervisor shaped her approach to loss and bereavement. That experience informs how she works with depression, shame, and low self-esteem.

In sessions she combines short-term problem solving with deeper exploration of past relationships and attachment patterns. That might mean looking at thoughts and behaviors with cognitive techniques, or tracing recurring relationship themes over time. The aim is practical - discover small changes that improve daily life.

Holly offers both live talk therapy and written online formats. She is comfortable with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, and supports people at different stages of adulthood including young adults and those facing midlife or aging concerns.

She encourages clients to go at a pace that feels manageable. The work is collaborative: clients and therapist decide what to try next based on what feels most useful.

Approach and online care for life transitions

Holly uses Attachment-Based Therapy to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. This approach helps people understand repeated relationship reactions and how those patterns show up in intimacy and trust. She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, to identify unhelpful thoughts and try small experiments to change behavior and mood. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and stress when practical changes are needed.

Choosing an approach is a team effort. Holly discusses goals, preferences, and what feels most comfortable, then adapts methods as the work unfolds. She frequently blends exploration of relational history with concrete steps so clients can see change in daily life.

Online therapy offers ways to fit sessions into a busy life. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation across distances. Phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for ongoing reflection between sessions or for people who prefer writing to speaking. These options make it easier to maintain continuity while navigating work, caregiving, and changing schedules.