Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
How Andrea works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Years in practice
- 27
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Andrea
Dr. Andrea Shirley is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 27 years of experience. She helps people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, anger, grief, and relationship concerns.
She also supports those facing career changes, caregiving strain, or challenges related to identity and intimacy. She believes clients are the experts on their own stories and that strengths already present can guide change. In sessions she works collaboratively and focuses on clear, practical steps people can try between meetings.
Background and approach
Beginning therapy is framed as a small, courageous move toward feeling better and more steady. Her approach draws on client-centered and narrative ideas to help people tell and reframe their stories. She also uses solution-focused tools to identify immediate next steps and trauma-focused methods when past wounds are affecting daily life.
These methods are adapted to each person's needs and pace. Most of her work in California has been with adults facing a mix of life stressors - from parenting and blended-family strains to chronic illness and grief. She can help people sort through communication problems, control issues, abandonment concerns, and symptoms that come with trauma and dissociation.
Sessions aim to clarify what matters most, build small skills, and track progress over time. Dr. Shirley encourages steady, manageable change rather than sudden overhaul.
She frames therapy as a cooperative process rooted in respect for each person's experience.
What Andrea works with
Everything Andrea lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Andrea's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Andrea lists
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and reflecting back what matters to the person. It helps people feel heard, clarify their goals, and make choices that fit their values. Narrative therapy helps people examine the stories they tell about themselves and try new ways of describing difficult experiences to reduce blame and open options for change. Solution-focused therapy zeroes in on practical next steps and small changes that can make a quick difference, which is helpful for stress, anger, and life transitions.Choosing a therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to your concerns and try different methods to find what feels most useful. She reviews progress together and adjusts the plan based on your goals and feedback so the work matches your needs.
Online formats offered include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and nonverbal cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging can be used for brief check-ins, coaching-style support, or when a shorter, flexible touchpoint fits your day. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or travel schedules.
Questions people ask about Andrea
What concerns does this therapist help with?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, anger, relationship and family concerns, grief, intimacy issues, sleeping problems, career stress, and coping with life changes. Additional areas include ADHD, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and trauma-related challenges.
How would she describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and practical. She centers the client's perspective, helps reframe personal stories, and identifies small, achievable steps between sessions.
What is her background and experience?
She holds a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist credential and has 27 years of professional experience working with adults on a range of life and relationship issues.
Where is she located and licensed?
She is licensed in California as an LMFT and practices with clients in that state.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English only and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be scheduled as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with this therapist?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling a session according to the therapist's availability.