Maria Rivera, LCSW

Maria Rivera is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in North Carolina with 15 years of professional experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship challenges, and trauma and abuse. She approaches each person as the expert of their own story and emphasizes the strengths clients already possess to move through difficult moments and achieve meaningful change. Her background includes work with individuals and families facing grief, parenting challenges, mood disorders, and life transitions, and she draws on a range of clinical methods to tailor care to each person’s needs.

Maria encourages those taking the first step toward therapy, recognizing that beginning treatment often requires courage. Her practice focuses on collaboration and practical strategies that fit everyday life while acknowledging the complexity of issues like anger, eating concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and co-occurring conditions. As an LCSW she brings clinical training in assessment and treatment planning alongside a client-centered philosophy that honors personal values and goals.

Whether seeking short-term support for a specific problem or longer-term work to address deeper patterns, Maria aims to create a respectful, strengths-based path forward that helps clients build coping skills and make changes that matter to them.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Maria Rivera incorporates evidence-informed methods to guide online sessions in ways that fit each person’s situation. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, invites clients to clarify their values and practice acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings while taking meaningful action toward valued goals - it can help with anxiety, stress, and navigating life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and developing practical strategies to shift patterns that contribute to depression, anxiety, and coping difficulties. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist listens closely and supports the client’s own problem solving and self-discovery.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Maria works collaboratively with each person to determine which combination of methods best fits their needs, goals, and preferences, and adjusts the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Maria is available by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for scheduling and for how clients prefer to engage. These options make it easier to access consistent support from a licensed professional while balancing work, family, and other responsibilities.