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 and intimacy concerns, trauma and abuse, and self-esteem. She aims to make the first step easier by offering calm, straightforward support. Her approach is conversational and practical. She creates a space where people can name their feelings and worries without judgment. Sessions focus on clearer communication, managing worry, and building emotional connection. She helps people break worries into manageable parts and develop small, steady changes. Dr. Lerlo draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address unhelpful thinking patterns and teach skills for day-to-day coping. She also uses Attachment-Based ideas to look at how early bonds shape current relationship habits. Emotionally-Focused Therapy informs her work on closeness and intimacy. In sessions she listens closely and offers tools that fit each person's life. Work can include simple homework, role-playing conversations, breathing and mindfulness practices, and planning steps to handle stressful moments. The goal is progress people can notice between meetings. People come to her for a wide range of issues, from rebuilding after betrayal to managing persistent anxiety or navigating a midlife change. Dr. Lerlo explains options plainly and helps clients choose what to try next. Her style is steady, practical, and focused on real-world results.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Dr. Lerlo blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Attachment-Based work to address thoughts and relationship patterns. CBT focuses on spotting unhelpful thoughts and practicing new responses to lower anxiety and improve daily functioning. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early bonds affect adult relationships and helps people form more secure connection habits. She also draws on Emotionally-Focused Therapy when intimacy and closeness are central concerns, using guided conversations to identify and shift patterns that create distance. Choosing an approach is collaborative; the therapist and client decide together which methods fit the person's goals and comfort level. This lets sessions stay focused on what matters most to the client. Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexible ways to engage. Video sessions allow fuller interaction and visual cues, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, and chat or messaging can be useful for brief check-ins or when a shorter contact fits the day. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while using the same therapeutic tools and exercises you would in person.