Maria Ward, LMFT

Maria Ward is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California with 13 years of clinical experience. She supports people facing stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, and works with a broad range of concerns including anger, depression, addictions, grief, parenting and family challenges, relationship and intimacy issues, eating concerns, self-esteem, career changes, bipolar disorder, ADHD and compassion fatigue. Maria is certified in Trauma Focus, a treatment modality specifically designed to address the effects of trauma and guide recovery.

She has experience working with parents managing difficult child behaviors, blended families, adoption and foster care dynamics, caregiving stress, codependency and communication or control issues within relationships. Bilingual in English and Spanish, Maria offers services in both languages and accepts international clients. Her work often attends to both individual symptoms and relational patterns, aiming to strengthen coping skills and promote healthier connections.

Maria emphasizes a collaborative stance - she believes each person is the expert on their own story and brings strengths to the therapeutic process. She listens, offers practical tools, and partners with clients to set goals and navigate life changes. Taking the first step into therapy is recognized as an important act of courage, and Maria is committed to supporting clients throughout that journey.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people clarify their values and take meaningful action even when difficult thoughts or feelings appear. It is useful for stress, anxiety, and navigating life changes by teaching practical skills to stay engaged with what matters. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early and current relationships shape emotional patterns and connection. It can help with relationship struggles, abandonment or attachment issues, and improving intimacy by rebuilding trust and understanding relational needs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) examines the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviors and teaches strategies to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, mood shifts and coping with difficult emotions.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Maria will work with each person to identify which methods fit their goals, needs and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress unfolds. The aim is to combine approaches that best support the client in reaching their objectives.

Online therapy offers flexibility - sessions can occur by video calls, phone, live chat or text-based messaging - making it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, manage caregiving or work commitments, and access care from different locations. Licensed professionals can deliver the same therapeutic techniques used in person, adapted to work effectively through remote formats.