Therapist profile
Holly Starr, LMFT
California
LMFT - Relationships and Mood concerns
Continue with HollyWhere Holly stands
- Credentials
- LMFT
- License
- LMFT, California / 22500
- NPI
- 1326514456
- Experience
- 25 years
- Languages
- English
- Location
- California
About
- Attachment-based work
- Cognitive approaches
- Grief and loss
About Holly
Holly Starr is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California with 25 years of clinical work behind her. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship struggles, intimacy concerns, and the strain of life transitions. Holly also pays attention to issues like codependency, attachment difficulties, caregiver stress, and low self-esteem.
Her training 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 background informs how she responds when people bring intense sadness or trauma into sessions.
Holly listens for patterns in how someone relates to others and to themselves. She uses questions and reflection to help people name feelings that can be hard to say out loud. As feelings become clearer, she and the client look at how thoughts shape choices and behavior. Practical steps and small shifts are part of the process when they are useful.
Sessions are conversational and focused on what is happening in the person’s life now. Holly draws on a mix of short-term and deeper approaches to match the concern at hand. She works with adults across a wide range of life stages and transitions.
People who come to her often want help setting better boundaries, handling caregiving strain, or coping with losses. The aim is to make daily life feel more manageable and to give tools for clearer decision making.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Attachment-based work focuses on how early relationships shape current patterns. In practice this looks like noticing how someone reacts in close relationships, and then trying different ways of responding to reduce repeated hurt. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It uses concrete exercises to test unhelpful thoughts and try alternative behaviors that can change mood and reduce anxiety.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Holly will help you decide which methods fit your situation and goals. She combines listening with practical steps and checks in as you try new ways of thinking or relating.
Confirm the current online session options before booking, because the biography does not list specific formats here. Online work can make regular sessions easier to fit into a busy life, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time so clients can use work breaks or evenings more easily. Talk with her about what will work best for scheduling and for the kind of work you want to do online.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does she help with people-pleasing and boundary issues?
Yes. She works with people who struggle to say no and who lose themselves in relationships, and she addresses patterns often called codependency.
What is her general therapy style?
She listens closely and reflects back what she notices, then helps clients put feelings into words and try small changes to thoughts or behaviors.
How much experience does she have?
She has 25 years of clinical experience, including work on a suicide prevention hotline and as a grief therapist and supervisor.
What credential and location apply to her practice?
She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices there.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
The original biography mentions both in-person and online written mediums in her past work; confirm current session options before booking through the service.
How are fees and billing handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule your first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are not safe at home, use the crisis and helpline numbers.