Works with
How Stella works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- New York
- Years in practice
- 27
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Stella
Stella Holmes-Hughes is a New York licensed clinical social worker with 27 years of practice. She meets people where they are and focuses on practical steps to reduce stress and manage anger. Her style is direct but empathetic, aimed at helping someone feel safer and more in control of daily life.
She helps people coping with addictions, anxiety, depression, and the aftermath of trauma and abuse. Stella also supports those facing intimacy-related issues, parenting strains, and challenges around self-esteem.
Background and approach
Additional concerns she addresses include gender dysphoria, HIV/AIDS, end-of-life matters, and young adult issues. Her sessions are shaped to each person's needs rather than following one fixed plan. She uses familiar approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to change unhelpful thinking, Dialectical Behavior Therapy for emotion regulation, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and take committed action.
Client-Centered and Attachment-Based methods guide how she builds trust and understands relationships. Stella aims to translate therapy ideas into everyday practices. That can look like short behavior experiments, clearer communication skills, or new routines to manage mood swings.
She explains steps in plain language and checks in about what feels useful. Beginning therapy is often the hardest part. She asks simple questions first, listens closely, and then co-creates a plan you can try between sessions.
The goal is steady, realistic progress people can notice in daily life.
What Stella works with
Everything Stella lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Stella's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Addictions
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Depression
- Gender dysphoria
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Jealousy
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Young adult issues
Approaches Stella lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice what matters to them and take small committed steps toward those values. Online sessions can use ACT to set short experiments and track changes between meetings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, identifies unhelpful thinking patterns and replaces them with clearer, more helpful behaviors; this works well in video or chat sessions where homework and worksheets are shared. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, emphasizes emotion regulation and practical skills for crisis moments, and it can be taught in bite-sized phone or text check-ins as well as longer video conversations.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to figure out which methods fit their goals, needs, and personal style. That means trying an approach, checking how it lands, and adjusting over time so the plan feels useful and doable.
Online formats offer practical advantages. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and screen-sharing for worksheets. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging support quick check-ins, shorter skill practice, or ongoing encouragement between longer sessions. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.
Questions people ask about Stella
What kinds of concerns can Stella help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and abuse, anger, self-esteem, intimacy-related issues, parenting, and related concerns listed in her profile.
What is her approach to therapy?
Stella combines practical methods like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and client-centered listening to create a plan that fits each person.
How long has she practiced?
She has 27 years of professional experience working with people on a range of emotional and behavioral concerns.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in New York and practices from that location.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire, then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.