Maria Najera

Maria Najera is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in California with seven years of professional experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, grief, and depression. Maria also focuses on issues such as attachment and abandonment, communication problems, control issues, and questions around life purpose.

She frames people as the experts of their own stories and looks for existing strengths to build on. Sessions are straightforward and conversational. Maria listens for patterns - like impulsivity, isolation, or shame - and helps people name them so they can be managed more effectively.

Her approach is practical. She helps clients break problems into smaller steps and practice different ways of responding to old patterns. Conversations address family of origin issues, guilt, forgiveness, and self-love when these come up as part of a concern.

Maria aims to support people who feel stuck after a change, uncertain about what comes next, or overwhelmed by mood symptoms. She offers a steady, goal-oriented style that focuses on what can be done between sessions. The work often combines learning new coping strategies with talking through past experiences that still affect daily life.

People who want to clarify their values, manage anxiety, or work through grief will find concrete options to try together. To begin, users complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session through the platform.

How evidence-based approaches translate to online sessions

Maria describes her work as grounded in evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical change. Cognitive approaches help identify unhelpful thinking and teach different ways of responding to stress and anxiety. These methods are often useful for mood problems, worry, and impulse control.

Trauma-informed strategies focus on understanding how past harm still affects present behavior and relationships. That work often involves naming difficult memories and practicing grounding and coping skills to reduce their hold on daily life. For grief and loss, she uses supportive, structured conversations that allow people to process the loss while finding manageable next steps.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist works collaboratively with each person to decide which techniques feel most useful, adjusting methods as goals and preferences become clearer. This helps ensure sessions match what a person needs at the moment.

Confirm the specific session formats before booking, since the profile does not list them. Online sessions can make it easier to work therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Some people prefer audio-only conversations for lower bandwidth or reduced screen time, while others choose video for more visual cues; Maria will discuss what fits the person's routine and comfort level during the matching and scheduling steps.