Christie Carol Spahr

Christie Carol Spahr is a California-based licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with 26 years of clinical experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, relationship struggles, and major life changes including divorce and separation. Christie uses straightforward, warm conversation to make starting therapy easier for worried people.

She encourages clients to get clearer about who they are and to build self-compassion, tolerance, trust, and confidence. Sessions focus on practical ways to manage painful feelings like sadness, panic, and shame. Christie uses storytelling and reflective listening so people can speak about thoughts and emotions without judgment.

Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Oregon and a Master of Arts in Psychology with a specialty in Marriage and Family Therapy. Before graduate school she worked in sports marketing and studied Indigenous cultures in the U.S. and Australia, experiences she draws on when helping people explore values and life purpose.

Christie names humanistic, existential, person-centered, motivational, narrative, and spoken-word approaches among the ways she works. In sessions she invites curiosity and openness while helping people practice new ways of relating to themselves and others. She describes therapy as a partnership and offers steady support through difficult transitions.

Outside of therapy, Christie is an avid runner who has completed marathons worldwide. She often uses the lessons from long-distance running - persistence, honesty with oneself, and small steady steps - as metaphors in work with clients.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate online

Christie mentions humanistic and narrative approaches among the ways she works. Humanistic work focuses on listening deeply and helping people connect with their own values and strengths; it is useful for building self-compassion and clarity about who you are. Narrative work helps people separate themselves from their problems by examining the stories they tell about their lives, which can be helpful for relationship strain, shame, and life transitions.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. She collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their goals and needs, adjusting the focus as therapy progresses so the work stays practical and relevant.

The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm current options before booking. That said, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow check-ins from different locations. It can also support shorter weekly check-ins or longer, deeper conversations depending on what someone needs. Licensed professionals can tailor the pacing and techniques to work well at a distance while focusing on the same goals as in-person work.