- Years in practice
- 14
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Parenting issues
About Andrea
Andrea McLellan is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) based in California with 14 years of clinical experience. She focuses on clear, practical work that helps people reduce symptoms and meet realistic goals. Andrea writes and teaches about psychology and brings that direct teaching style into therapy.
Andrea draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to help people change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. She also uses solution-focused strategies to set short-term goals and track progress.
Background and approach
She combines these with psychodynamic and narrative perspectives when it helps to understand deeper life patterns and personal history. Her background includes academic work as an adjunct psychology instructor and forensic consultation involving sexual assault and child abuse cases. That experience has shaped her attention to how early family dynamics and trauma affect later functioning.
She pays close attention to patterns like attachment issues, abandonment, and the intergenerational impact of family chaos. Andrea works with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, and parenting-related stress. She also supports people coping with chronic illness, caregiver burden, body image, and career concerns.
Her practice blends practical techniques with an interest in the underlying motivations that keep problems repeating. Outside work she enjoys outdoor time at the beach, hiking, bird-watching, and camping. She describes therapy as a collaborative process that asks for awareness, responsibility, courage, and forgiveness as steps toward lasting change.
What Andrea works with
Everything Andrea lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Andrea helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Andrea lists
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approach-focused online care for changing patterns
Andrea often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. CBT is practical and skill-based, so it tends to help with anxiety, depression, sleep and eating problems, and many stress-related issues.She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness. DBT skills are useful when strong emotions, anger, or relationship conflicts get in the way of daily life. Motivational Interviewing is another tool she uses to support people who want to make changes but feel stuck or ambivalent about taking the next steps.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work together. The therapist will help decide what fits best based on your goals, your day-to-day routine, and what feels most useful. That collaborative process lets goals be realistic and measurable.
Online formats include video, phone, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is good for longer sessions that benefit from face-to-face conversation. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or when you need a shorter check-in. Live chat and text messaging offer flexible ways to touch base between sessions or when typing feels easier. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask about Andrea
What kinds of concerns does Andrea address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, relationship and intimacy struggles, and parenting-related stress. Additional focus areas include body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and attachment concerns.
What is her general therapy style?
Andrea favors practical, goal-driven work using solution-focused methods and cognitive behavioral ideas to change unhelpful patterns. She also draws on narrative and psychodynamic perspectives when exploring deeper life history is useful.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 14 years of clinical experience and also teaches psychology at the university level. Her background includes forensic consultation related to sexual assault and child abuse.
Where is she licensed and based?
Andrea is a California licensed marriage and family therapist, LMFT, practicing in California.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
What formats are available for sessions?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging for convenient online work.
How is cost handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire. Then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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