- Years in practice
- 15
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- North Carolina
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Relationship issues
About Maria
Maria Rivera is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in North Carolina with 15 years of experience. She focuses on practical, person-centered work to help people manage stress, anxiety, and life transitions. Her approach is warm and straightforward, aimed at helping parents and individuals find usable strategies for daily challenges.
Maria emphasizes the client's own knowledge about their life. She helps people notice strengths and use them to handle addictions, grief, anger, and relationships.
Background and approach
Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented, not filled with jargon or complicated exercises. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thinking and behavior. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is used to clarify values and guide actions that matter.
Motivational Interviewing often supports people who want change but feel stuck. Maria also uses client-centered and solution-focused methods to keep sessions practical. That means listening carefully, reflecting what matters, and planning small steps that fit each person's situation.
Parents can expect help with parenting stress, communication, and balancing responsibilities. Her work covers a wide range of concerns including trauma, eating issues, mood disorders like bipolar and depression, ADHD, and challenges tied to caregiving or chronic illness. She aims to make therapy feel usable and steady for day-to-day life.
What Maria works with
Everything Maria lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Maria helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Eating disorders
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Maria lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people identify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values. Online ACT can support parenting goals, managing anxiety, and coping with life changes by focusing on actions that fit daily routines.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and teaches practical techniques to change unhelpful patterns. CBT sessions online can include brief skill practice, worksheets shared over messaging, and structured homework between sessions.
Finding the right approach is a joint process. The therapist will work with each person to pick methods that match their goals and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress is made. This collaborative method helps parents balance therapy work with family responsibilities.
Online formats offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for deeper work. Phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or for quick check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging make it simpler to fit short reflections or skill practice into a busy day. These options make it easier to keep steady progress while juggling life demands.
Questions people ask about Maria
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, anger, grief, eating concerns, parenting issues, low self-esteem, bipolar disorder, depression, ADHD, and related challenges.
What is her therapy style like?
Her style is conversational and practical. She uses client-centered listening, goal-focused planning, and breathes in CBT and ACT techniques as needed.
How much experience does she have?
She has 15 years of professional experience providing mental health support in clinical settings.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - LCSW - licensed in North Carolina.
Can I work with her in a language other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to suit different needs.
How are costs handled?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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