Carolyn Hollingshead, LCSW, LISW-CP
Compassionate therapist blending body and mind
About Carolyn
Carolyn Hollingshead is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and relationship struggles. She works with concerns like chronic pain, eating issues, parenting strain, ADHD, and coping with life changes. Carolyn aims to make therapy practical and usable for day-to-day living.
She brings 22 years of experience as a social worker and a long career in nutrition to her approach. Carolyn uses a blend of short- and longer-term methods to help people notice patterns and try new ways of responding.
Background and approach
She values clear communication and moments of insight that lead to change. Her background includes work with chronic pain, bereavement, eating and food-related issues, and end-of-life concerns. She previously worked as a Registered Dietitian and holds a PhD in Nutrition, which informs her understanding of body, health, and behavior.
This background supports a holistic view when medical issues are part of the story. Therapy sessions often combine talking with practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Carolyn also incorporates somatic ideas to help people pay attention to how their bodies hold stress and emotion.
She uses client-centered techniques to keep the work grounded in each person’s goals. People can expect a thoughtful, experience-informed guide who draws from many approaches. Carolyn is licensed in Utah and aims to tailor strategies to what each person needs right now.
How therapeutic approaches work online
Somatic-informed work focuses on the body and on noticing physical sensations connected to emotion. It can help when stress or trauma feels held in muscle tension, breathing, or posture and offers ways to bring calm through body awareness.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, teaches ways to accept difficult thoughts while choosing actions that match personal values. It is useful for anxiety, depression, and people trying to change unhelpful habits.
Client-centered therapy creates a respectful, nonjudgmental space where the person leads the pace and the therapist follows. This builds understanding and supports self-directed growth.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Carolyn will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. The plan can shift as needs change and as people try different strategies.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These formats make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, allow follow-up between meetings, and let people access help from home. Licensed professionals can use these options to combine talk, exercises, and somatic awareness into effective remote sessions.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also works with
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- Utah, South Carolina, North Carolina
- Languages
- English