- Guilt and shame support
- Grief and loss
- Self esteem work
About Kristian
Kristian Orphey is a California LCSW with 11 years of professional experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, family conflicts, grief, low self-esteem, and depression. Her work also touches on adoption and foster care, blended family issues, caregiver stress, and concerns around guilt and shame.
Kristian keeps conversations direct and practical. She encourages people to name the feelings that are hardest to say aloud. Sessions focus on what feels most pressing - whether that's coping with a recent loss, setting boundaries in family relationships, or working through persistent shame about past choices.
She pays attention to everyday life pressures like money worries, the strain of caregiving, and the loneliness that can follow major life transitions. Kristian supports people sorting their goals and priorities, and she helps break big problems into smaller steps people can try between sessions.
Her approach aims to be clear and down-to-earth. She invites honest talk about family of origin, divorce, or blended family dynamics without assuming how the story will end. People who struggle with identity, self-love, or feeling stuck in young adulthood will find a focus on practical responses rather than abstract labels.
Kristian asks clients to set small, achievable goals and to notice changes over time. If you are considering therapy, the first steps include a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a session. She works in English and is based in California.
How evidence-based approaches are used in online sessions
Kristian works with evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical change. One common approach is skills-based work that teaches concrete strategies for managing anxiety and stress, such as short breathing or grounding practices and step-by-step behavioral changes that reduce overwhelm. This kind of work helps when feelings spike or daily routines become hard to manage.Another approach involves processing grief and family-related hurt through guided conversation and gradual exposure to difficult memories. That looks like naming specific moments, weighing what still matters, and deciding on small actions to test new ways of relating to those memories. These techniques are often used when clients struggle with guilt and shame linked to family or past choices.
Choosing the best approach is a collaborative process. Kristian will discuss your goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before, then adjust methods as you try them together. The aim is to find practical steps that fit your life and feel doable.
Session formats are not listed in the biography, so please confirm current online options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when time is limited, and reduce travel time so sessions are more likely to happen during a lunch break or between errands.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
11+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, family conflicts, grief, self-esteem, and depression, plus related issues like adoption and caregiver stress.
How does she approach guilt or shame?
She encourages naming and describing the feeling, then breaking it into manageable pieces to work on in sessions and between meetings.
What is her therapeutic style like?
The style is direct and practical, focusing on clear steps, problem-solving, and small goals rather than abstract labels.
How much experience does she have?
She has 11 years of professional work experience as a clinician.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a California LCSW and practices in California.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
What formats are offered for sessions?
Session formats are not specified here; please confirm current session options before booking.
How do subscriptions and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.