Scheherazade Collins , LMFT

Scheherazade Collins uses client-centered and evidence-based approaches to help people navigate stress, anxiety, eating issues, and life transitions. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California with 12 years of professional experience. Her style is straightforward and collaborative, focusing on what a person needs now to feel steadier and more capable.

She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to build emotional regulation and distress tolerance. Mindfulness techniques are offered to help people calm racing thoughts and notice patterns without judgment. Sessions are practical and skills-focused rather than lengthy lectures.

Scheherazade has experience working with people facing attention and motivation challenges, mood disorders, addictions, and eating and food-related issues. She also supports people dealing with grief, trauma and abuse, pregnancy and childbirth concerns, and career or life-purpose questions. Women's issues are among the areas she lists as a focus.

Her background includes work with first responders and elite performers, drawing on sport psychology concepts to target performance anxiety and peak performance concerns. That experience informs concise tools for managing pressure and improving focus. She explains strategies in plain language and practices coaching-style interventions when helpful.

Sessions can address both immediate problems and longer-term change. Scheherazade helps people set clear goals, try specific skills between visits, and track progress over time. Her approach centers on the client's priorities and strengths.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Client-centered therapy puts the person's goals and perspective first. The therapist listens carefully, reflects what she hears, and helps people shape therapy around their values and needs. This approach supports issues like low self-esteem, relationship concerns, and life changes by keeping the work focused on what matters most to the client.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions. It teaches practical steps to test unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and many mood-related concerns because it gives clear strategies people can practice between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the process and the therapist will collaborate with each person to decide what fits best. She will review goals, try methods, and adjust as needed so the work matches the client's preferences and progress. This collaborative planning helps make sessions feel purposeful and paced to real life.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls let the therapist and client use visual cues during skills practice, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth fluctuates. Live chat and text-based messaging work for short check-ins, brief coaching moments, or people who prefer writing. These options make it possible to continue work across schedules, travel, and busy days while keeping therapy focused on practical change.