Chelsea Heller, LMFT

Chelsea Heller is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California with deep experience supporting children, families, and individuals through complex life challenges. She began her career as a social worker with Child Protective Services, where she spent nine years working with children and families affected by foster care and adoption. That work developed her expertise in adoption-related issues, attachment concerns, and questions of identity that can accompany foster and adoptive experiences.

In clinical settings she has treated a broad range of presenting problems, including depression, anxiety, parenting and blended-family dynamics, teen concerns, grief and loss, trauma and abuse, crisis intervention, and adjustment difficulties. Chelsea also worked in an in-patient psychiatric hospital providing short-term stabilization for people experiencing bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and schizoaffective presentations, severe anxiety and depression, addiction and co-occurring conditions, suicidal ideation, self-injurious behaviors, and stress-related psychotic symptoms. Part of that role involved educating families about diagnoses and practical ways to support their loved ones.

Transitioning into the education sector, Chelsea moved into school psychology, where she conducts psychoeducational assessments to identify conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and learning disabilities. Her assessments inform individual education plans and educationally related mental health service recommendations. She also provides counseling and supports students with elevated mental health needs.

Chelsea has a longstanding commitment to serving LGBTQ youth and families. As a social worker she spent time working exclusively with LGBTQ parents and children, and in the school setting she completed doctoral research centered on LGBTQ student needs and facilitated a Gay Straight Alliance club to support students and allies.

Her therapeutic stance is eclectic with a primary orientation toward humanistic, person-centered care - meeting each person where they are and guiding their individual process of self-discovery. She also integrates evidence-informed methods including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and psychodynamic principles. Chelsea describes the therapist role as an empathic, nonjudgmental companion who supports clients in making their own choices at their own pace, collaboratively setting goals without imposing an agenda.

Her academic and professional credentials include a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from California State University, San Marcos; a Certificate in Parent Education and Training from the University of California, Los Angeles; a Certificate in Special Education Advocacy from the University of San Diego; a Master of Science in Research Psychology from the University of Phoenix; a Master of Arts in Counseling (Marriage and Family Therapy) from Mount Saint Marys College; and a Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential in School Psychology from La Sierra University, which authorizes practice in school settings. She is also completing a Doctor of Education in Educational Psychology and Mental Health at La Sierra University. Chelsea is licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as an LMFT, license number 116834.