Mimi Olavarrieta
Hello! I'm Mimi, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working with adults, young adults, couples, teens, and families. My style is warm, relational, grounded, and collaborative. I want therapy to feel like a place where you can show up as you are, without needing to have the right words or a perfectly defined problem before you begin. I work with people navigating anxiety, trauma, relationship patterns, emotional overwhelm, life transitions, identity, substance use concerns, and the many ways we can end up feeling stuck or disconnected from ourselves. I also enjoy working with people who are not in crisis, but who want a consistent space to better understand themselves, strengthen their relationships, and make meaningful changes.
I’ll meet you with warmth and curiosity, while also gently challenging patterns, asking the harder questions, and helping you see things from a different angle when it feels useful.
My approach is client-centered and holistic. I pay attention to the whole person — your relationships, history, patterns, emotions, body, and present-day experience. Therapy with me can include both deeper reflection and practical support, depending on what you need. I also value humor, honesty, and being a real person in the room. Therapy can hold difficult things without needing to feel heavy all the time.
First session
My hope is that you leave our first session feeling heard, a little more at ease, and with a sense of what it might be like to work together. I won’t expect you to tell me everything about yourself or have your goals perfectly figured out right away. We’ll spend time getting to know one another, identifying what brought you to therapy, the challenges you’re currently facing, and what you hope to get out of our work together. We can begin identifying goals while also staying flexible about how those goals may evolve over time. I see therapy as a collaborative process, so I’ll want to understand what feels most important to you and what kind of support tends to be helpful. With couples and families, I make space for each person’s perspective and begin looking together at the patterns happening between you rather than deciding who is “right” or who is the problem.
Strengths
I think one of my biggest strengths is my ability to create a relationship where people feel genuinely seen, respected, and able to be themselves. I try to show up authentically and as a real person in the room — not as someone who has everything figured out, but as another human being sitting with you in whatever you’re carrying. I’m warm and validating, but I’m not completely passive. When it feels helpful, I’ll gently challenge a pattern, ask a difficult question, or help you look at something from a different angle. I tend to balance depth with practicality. Some sessions may involve exploring attachment patterns, relationships, past experiences, or parts of yourself that are difficult to understand or accept. Other sessions may be much more concrete — working through a current conflict, building coping skills, setting boundaries, identifying realistic goals, or breaking something overwhelming into smaller, more manageable steps. I’m also comfortable sitting with complexity. I try to understand what an emotion, behavior, or pattern may be doing for you before we rush to change it. Humor and lightness are also a natural part of how I relate. Therapy can be serious and meaningful without every moment needing to feel heavy. My goal is for you to feel supported, understood, and gently encouraged to grow in ways that actually fit your life.
Ideal clients
I work best with adolescents, young adults, adults, couples, and families navigating anxiety, emotional dysregulation, substance use, family conflict, self-esteem challenges, relationship difficulties, and life transitions. My ideal client is someone who is curious about themselves and open to looking at the patterns, relationships, and experiences that may be shaping how they feel today. You might be navigating anxiety, relationship difficulties, a life transition, emotional overwhelm, trauma, substance use concerns, or simply feeling stuck or disconnected from yourself. I also work well with people who aren’t necessarily in crisis, but want a consistent space to understand themselves more deeply, strengthen their relationships, and make meaningful changes. You don’t need to arrive with a perfectly defined goal. We can start with what feels most present and figure out together what you need from therapy.
Treatment methods
Compassion-Focused
I use compassion-focused work to help clients notice the ways self-criticism, shame, or harsh internal expectations may be affecting how they feel and respond. Together, we work toward a more supportive and understanding relationship with yourself, especially during difficult or emotionally overwhelming moments.
Psychodynamic
I use psychodynamic therapy to help clients better understand how past experiences, relationships, and recurring patterns may be shaping the present. This can help make sense of why certain emotions, conflicts, or behaviors keep showing up and create more choice in how you respond moving forward.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I incorporate mindfulness to help clients become more aware of their thoughts, emotions, and physical responses without immediately judging or reacting to them. This can support grounding, emotional regulation, and a greater sense of steadiness during stressful or overwhelming experiences.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
My approach is grounded in the belief that therapy works best when you feel genuinely heard, respected, and accepted. I meet clients where they are and work collaboratively, creating space for you to explore your experiences at your own pace while building greater self-understanding and trust in yourself.
Somatic
I incorporate mind-body and somatic practices to help clients notice how emotions and stress show up physically, become more aware of their nervous system responses, and build greater capacity to stay present during difficult moments. This may include grounding, breath work, sensory awareness, and other practices that support regulation and connection to the body. I often integrate these approaches alongside deeper relational work and practical coping strategies.
Location
Virtual sessions
In-person sessions240 Miller Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941, Ste A