About Carolyn
Carolyn Hollingshead helps people who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, stress, addictions, relationship and family concerns, and parenting challenges. She also supports people facing chronic pain, eating and body image issues, ADHD, bipolar mood concerns, and big life changes. Carolyn is a licensed clinical social worker - LCSW - and holds an additional social work license in South Carolina.
She keeps sessions straightforward and practical. Conversations often focus on what feels stuck now and on small steps that can make life easier.
Background and approach
She uses a mix of talk-based methods and mindfulness practices to help people notice patterns and try different approaches. Carolyn draws on 22 years of social work practice and a long career in nutrition and teaching. That medical and academic background makes her comfortable addressing health-related challenges and eating concerns without getting lost in jargon.
She also has experience supporting people through end-of-life matters and hospice-related distress. Her approach is collaborative and curious. She listens for family-of-origin patterns and life stories that shape present choices.
When useful, she brings in tools from cognitive behavioral work, acceptance strategies, and relationship-focused methods to build skills and insight. Sessions aim to combine insight with practical change. Clients leave with concrete exercises, communication tools, or simple routines to try between meetings.
Carolyn’s style is calm, direct, and respectful of each person’s pace.
Therapeutic approaches for online care
Carolyn commonly uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in her online practice. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy focuses on helping people notice thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, and then choose actions that match their values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and offers concrete exercises to test and change unhelpful patterns.She also draws on client-centered methods that prioritize listening and meeting each person where they are. Finding the right approach is a team effort - the therapist and client talk about goals, try different tools, and adjust the plan based on what works. This collaborative tone helps people move from insight to small, workable steps.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to give practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good fit when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make it easier to fit brief support into a busy day or to work through quick skills between meetings. These options help people access consistent care around work, caregiving, or health limitations.
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