Maria Ward, LMFT

Maria Ward is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 13 years of clinical experience. She helps people who are coping with stress, anxiety, trauma, depression, anger, addiction, grief, and relationship concerns. She speaks English and Spanish and works with individuals who are navigating major life changes or parenting challenges.

Maria approaches therapy by listening first and following the person's lead. She believes people know their own stories and have strengths to build on. In sessions she offers practical tools and clear steps to help manage strong emotions and recurring patterns.

Her work draws on a mix of approaches, including cognitive behavioral ideas, attachment-focused perspectives, and acceptance-based practices. This means conversations can include looking at unhelpful thinking, noticing patterns that come from early relationships, and practicing ways to accept difficult feelings while moving toward valued goals.

Maria has experience supporting people facing body-image concerns, caregiver stress, adoption and foster care issues, codependency, and challenges around intimacy and commitment. She also works with those managing bipolar mood shifts, ADHD-related struggles, and substance use concerns.

People who choose her often want a collaborative therapist who listens and offers usable skills. Maria emphasizes building safety in the therapeutic relationship, setting small goals, and tracking progress over time. To start, she asks new clients to complete a short questionnaire and then schedule their first appointment.

How her approaches guide online work

Maria uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, and to choose actions that match their values. This approach can help with anxiety, avoidance, and making life changes.

She also draws from Attachment-Based Therapy to look at patterns in close relationships. That work helps when past attachments affect trust, communication, or intimacy in current relationships.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. Maria will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and how past experiences shape current struggles. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Confirm the available session options before booking so you know how she is currently meeting with people. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten commute time, and allow for check-ins during a workday break. Some formats may also use less bandwidth or be better for people who prefer not to be on camera. These practical benefits can help therapy become a regular part of daily life without promising a specific outcome.