Holistic Jungian therapist specializing in trauma and relationships
Hi there!
I’m Chelsea! I’m so glad you’re exploring therapy – I think everyone can benefit from processing things in life and learning more about themselves. It’s important to feel comfortable and connected with your clinician, so I’d like to tell you a bit about myself to help you make an informed decision as to whether or not we’d be a good fit together! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California. Previously, I worked as a social worker for Child Protective Services for 9 years, supporting children and families touched by foster care and adoption. As such, I am well versed in addressing core adoption issues, attachment, and identity concerns. Additionally, I have experience treating depression, anxiety, parenting, blended-families, teen concerns, grief/loss, trauma, abuse, crisis, and adjustment. I’ve also worked at an in-patient psychiatric hospital, helping stabilize individuals short-term with bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective, depression, anxiety, addiction, co-morbid disorders, suicidal ideations, self-injurious behaviors, and those encountering psychotic breaks triggered by stress. Equally important was my role in educating families about the diagnosis and ways to support their loved ones. I have since transitioned to the education sector and have been supporting students as a School Psychologist. In this role, I conduct psychoeducational assessments to identify students with autism, intellectual disabilities, AD/HD, and learning disabilities, among others. My assessments are then utilized to inform independent education plans. I also conduct Educationally Related Mental Health Service assessments and provide related counseling, serving students with higher mental health needs. Lastly, I would be remiss if I neglected my passion and experience serving the LGBTQ community. For a portion of my time as a social worker, I worked solely with LGBTQ parents and children, providing support to this community. In the school setting, I conducted my doctoral research focusing on LGBTQ student needs and facilitated a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club, supporting LGBTQ students and allies.
I utilize an eclectic approach with clients, though tend to draw primarily from a humanistic, person-centered approach. This dynamic in a therapeutic relationship means I attempt to “meet each client where they are.” This serves as a catalyst, allowing each individual to progress through their unique process of self-discovery. I also utilize principles from leading psychological modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Psychodynamic approaches.
My role as a therapist is not to give you advice or change you. Rather, it is to be an understanding, empathic, and non-judgmental support to help guide you to your own choices, AT YOUR OWN PACE. Together, we can establish goals for therapy, and while I can help you gain insight, I will never push an agenda or risk rupturing our therapeutic relationship.
I know it takes a lot of courage to seek support, and I am humbled by the opportunity to lend my strength during times when you are most vulnerable.
My credentials include:
– Bachelor of Arts in Social Science – California State University, San Marcos
– Certificate in Parent Education and Training – University of California, Los Angeles
– Certificate in Special Education Advocacy – University of San Diego
– Master of Science in Research Psychology – University of Phoenix
– Master of Arts in Counseling (Marriage & Family Therapy) – Mount Saint Mary’s College
– PPS Credential in School Psychology – La Sierra University
– Doctor of Education in Educational Psychology and Mental Health (in progress) – La Sierra University
– Licensed by State of California Board of Behavioral Sciences (LMFT 116834)
About me:
I know it is difficult to share intimate details with someone, while not knowing any personal details about them. I also understand the desire for shared experiences, and feeling as though someone truly understands your pain. Thus, I tend to share some of my background with clients, while maintaining professional boundaries and focus.
Growing up, my mother was a principal and my father was a chief of police. My older brother struggled with learning disabilities and drug addiction as a teen, eventually leading to crime and prison. Thus, as an adolescent, I was quickly exposed to internal conflict, fearing someone I loved, and grieving that relationship. As an adult, I became a single parent and sought my own therapy to manage the intense feelings of shame while learning to co-parent. I have since found a new partner and was recently married after postponing the wedding 4 times due to COVID.. I continue to navigate the challenges of having a blended family with my 6-year-old daughter and 6-year-old step son. I enjoy concerts, photography, soccer, and camping. I also use profanity a shitload more than I care to admit.
Licensed · Professional · Cancel Anytime
Chelsea Heller is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in California who approaches therapy with a warm, person-centered orientation. She believes that everyone can benefit from processing life events and learning more about themselves, and she aims to create a therapeutic relationship that meets each person where they are so clients can move through their own process of self-discovery.
Before becoming a therapist, Chelsea spent nine years working as a social worker for Child Protective Services, supporting children and families affected by foster care and adoption. That background gives her particular knowledge of adoption-related issues, attachment, and identity concerns. She also has experience treating depression, anxiety, parenting and blended-family challenges, teen concerns, grief and loss, trauma and abuse, crisis situations, and adjustment difficulties.
Chelsea’s clinical work has included time in an in-patient psychiatric hospital, where she helped stabilize individuals on a short-term basis for conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, depression, anxiety, addiction, co-occurring disorders, suicidal ideation, self-injurious behavior, and stress-triggered psychotic episodes. In that setting she also worked with families to explain diagnoses and suggest ways to support their loved ones.
More recently Chelsea transitioned into the education sector as a school psychologist. In that role she conducts psychoeducational assessments to identify autism, intellectual disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and learning disabilities, and she uses those assessments to inform individualized education plans. She also performs Educationally Related Mental Health Service assessments and provides counseling for students with higher mental health needs.
Chelsea has a sustained commitment to serving the LGBTQ community. As a social worker she spent part of her practice working exclusively with LGBTQ parents and children, and in the school setting she completed doctoral research focused on LGBTQ student needs and facilitated a Gay Straight Alliance club to support LGBTQ youth and allies.
Her therapeutic approach is eclectic, grounded primarily in humanistic, person-centered principles that emphasize empathy and collaboration. She also integrates techniques from evidence-based modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, motivational interviewing, and psychodynamic approaches. Chelsea frames her role as a therapist not as someone who tells clients what to do, but as an empathic, nonjudgmental guide who helps people identify their own choices and goals at their own pace.
Chelsea has five years of experience providing therapy services. Her formal training includes a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from California State University San Marcos; certificates in Parent Education and Training from the University of California, Los Angeles and in Special Education Advocacy from the University of San Diego; a Master of Science in Research Psychology from the University of Phoenix; and a Master of Arts in Counseling with a focus on marriage and family therapy from Mount Saint Marys College. She also holds a Pupil Personnel Services credential in School Psychology from La Sierra University and is completing a Doctor of Education in Educational Psychology and Mental Health at La Sierra University. She is licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as a marriage and family therapist, license number 116834.
Chelsea recognizes how difficult it can be to share intimate details with someone whose personal life you do not know, and she is humbled by the opportunity to support individuals during vulnerable times.
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