Ryan Garza, LCSW

Ryan Garza is a licensed clinical social worker with 17 years of practice. He practices from a client-centered perspective and focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, addiction, and relationship concerns. He works in a direct, encouraging manner and aims to shape treatment around each person's goals and priorities.

He uses short-term, goal-focused tools alongside longer conversations about how life events shape current patterns. Cognitive behavioral strategies are used to spot and change unhelpful thinking. Dialectical behavior ideas are brought in to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and stronger interpersonal skills.

Mindfulness practices are offered to help with focus, grounding, and awareness of body and feeling. Motivational interviewing helps when people need support finding reasons to change or to build on existing strengths. Everything in sessions is adapted to the pace the person prefers.

Ryan has worked in individual, couple, family, and group settings over his career, which gives him a range of ways to approach common struggles like codependency, caregiver stress, and issues related to military service. His style is compassionate and occasionally lighthearted while remaining focused on practical steps.

He asks people to be active partners in treatment. Together they build a plan that reflects the person’s values, immediate needs, and longer term goals. Sessions aim to increase coping, reduce distress, and improve daily functioning.

How Ryan’s Approaches Work Online

Client-centered therapy means the therapist focuses on the person’s priorities and choices. Sessions follow the client’s agenda and adapt to what feels most helpful. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, teaches ways to notice and change thinking and behavior patterns that keep problems like anxiety and low mood going. DBT, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy, brings practical tools for managing strong emotions, handling crises, and improving relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with the person about their goals, try methods that match those goals, and adjust based on what helps most. This is a collaborative process rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.

Please confirm the available session formats before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. They can also support steady practice of skills between meetings. Licensed professionals can tailor exercises and homework so people can use them in everyday life.