ASSOCIATE THERAPIST
Chelsea Engberg, AMFT, APCC
You don't always have to be the one holding everything together.
I work with individuals, couples, and teens navigating anxiety, grief, relationships, major transitions, burnout, and high-stress careers and circumstances.
Anxiety • Grief & Loss • Relationships • Burnout • High-Stress Careers
When You Know Something Needs to Change
You may know exactly what's bringing you to therapy.
Or you may simply know that the way things have been feeling isn't working anymore.
Maybe you're overwhelmed by anxiety or grief.
Your relationship feels stuck.
You're navigating a transition and can't quite find your footing.
Or you're very good at functioning in a demanding life while quietly becoming more and more depleted by it.
Therapy gives us somewhere to slow that down.
I work collaboratively with you to understand what's happening, recognize the patterns keeping you stuck, and find a way forward that makes sense for your actual life.
What It's Like to Work With Me
My approach is active, human, collaborative, and grounded.
You won't be expected to fill an entire session while I sit silently and nod.
I think of therapy as looking at the map of your life together: understanding where you've been, getting curious about where you are, and becoming clearer about where you'd like to go.
Sometimes that means talking something through.
Sometimes it means gently challenging a pattern.
Sometimes we need practical strategies.
And sometimes we need to stop trying to solve everything for a minute and pay attention to what's already happening.
The work is shaped around you, rather than expecting you to fit yourself into one particular way of doing therapy.
High-Stress Careers & Circumstances
I have a particular interest in working with people whose careers or life circumstances ask a lot from them.
That includes specialized support for people working in aviation, veterinary medicine, healthcare, and other high-pressure environments.
When your work involves responsibility, intensity, caregiving, difficult decisions, or exposure to loss and stress, its effects don't necessarily disappear when the workday ends.
Therapy can help address burnout, compassion fatigue, anxiety, grief, relationships, identity, and the complicated experience of being someone other people frequently depend on.
Nature-Based Therapy
For clients who connect with movement and the outdoors, I also offer nature-based therapy when it's an appropriate fit.
Nature can give us a different environment for therapeutic work-one that may make room for movement, grounding, perspective, and conversations that feel different outside the traditional therapy office.
You don't have to be particularly outdoorsy.
You just have to be curious about whether a different setting might work for you.
Outside of Therapy
Outside of therapy, Chelsea is a wildlife photographer, consultant, and lifelong learner. At home, life stays interesting thanks to three rescue dogs with their own health complexities and a rescue cockatoo who keeps her on her toes.
Training & Background
I earned my B.A. from the University of California, Davis, my M.S. in Aeronautical Science with an emphasis in Human Factors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and my M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Palo Alto University. I also completed graduate work in Engineering Psychology at the University of Idaho.
My additional training and certifications include:
Nature Informed Therapist Certification through the Center for Nature Informed Therapy
Level 1 Relational Life Therapy (RLT) Training
Before becoming a therapist, I built an extensive career in aviation as a commercial pilot, flight instructor, aerobatic instructor and competitor, and aviation safety professional. I have flown more than 50 airframes and held leadership roles in flight operations and aviation safety, with additional training through the U.S. Navy's Aviation Safety Officer School and CRM Instructor Program.
My background in human factors and aviation continues to inform my understanding of how people respond, relate, and make decisions under pressure.
THERAPY ACROSS CALIFORNIA
Online & In-Person Therapy Across California
Our therapists provide online therapy throughout California, making it possible to access relational, individualized support from wherever you call home.
In-person, nature-based and experiential therapy services are also available in select Northern and Central California communities.
Therapy in Salinas
Explore therapy for adults, couples, children, teens and families in Salinas, California, including in-person services.
Connections Boarding Stables 22400 Indian Springs Rd
Salinas, CA 93908
Therapy in Auburn
Explore therapy services for individuals, couples and families in Auburn and the surrounding Northern California communities.
Therapy in Truckee
Find therapy in Truckee for relationships, anxiety, trauma, stress, life transitions and other challenges, with virtual and select experiential options.
Could We Be a Good Fit?
I work with individuals, couples, and teens, particularly around:
Anxiety • Grief & Loss • Relationship Challenges • Life Transitions • Stress • Burnout • Compassion Fatigue • Self-Esteem & Shame • Identity • High-Stress Careers
If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure what the way forward looks like, you don't have to figure that out before reaching out.