Have the last few years of overwhelming stress taken a toll on your mental health and relationships? Have your mental health issues or relationship problems become much worse over the past few years with all the added stress in the world? A lot of individuals and relationships are struggling right now with intensified anxiety, depression, relationship conflict, overwhelm, and burnout. Covid was just the beginning years of constant stress, political upheaval, relationship conflicts, forced changes - and people of all ages are feeling the effects of chronic stress and unwanted change, but don't have the right coping skills to manage it all. Many people are now experiencing mental health issues like social anxiety, relationship problems, panic attacks, depression and low self-esteem, constant worry and overthinking, digital or substance addictions, loneliness or lack of motivation problems, that have been made much worse by all the stress of the past fe years. I want to tell you, you are not alone. You matter, and there is help for you! Hi, I'm Maria Otsuka, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I offer audio/video telehealth therapy sessions that can make a big difference to reduce mental health symptoms and help you get back on track with your life, conveniently from the comfort of your own space. I started my career as a therapist after BEING a therapy client changed me and my life for the better! That's what makes me so passionate about helping YOU change yourself and your life! I love to help adolescents, couples, and adults unpack and work through their personal issues and challenges in a safe and respectful therapy setting. If you're ready to do your personal work and partner with a caring and supportive therapist to improve yourself and your life, then let's get started!
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In our first session together, we'll share brief introductions then dive into the specific challenges that bring you to therapy. We will discuss what you'd like to accomplish through therapy, then I'll create a customized plan to address your needs and goals.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I love to work with clients of all ages, especially around issues of anxiety, depression, perfectionism, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, poor self-confidence, often stemming from dysfunctional family dynamics and ways of thinking learned during childhood that interfere with good mental health and healthy relationships as an adult. I have skills and experience helping clients navigate relationships, teaching them to discern between "safe" and "unsafe" people, how to avoid toxic relationships and embrace healthy ones, and increasing assertiveness and self-confidence to help you attract healthy relationships and get unstuck from being treated abusively by others. I also have helped many people dramatically reduce their anxiety and OCD problems and take their lives back from a prison of constant intrusive negative thoughts! I can help you gain freedom and relief by teaching you a super effective 4-step treatment method.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal clients are people who are tired of being stuck where they have been, and are ready to do the work required to learn new ways of thinking and doing relationships, and practicing new skills between sessions. It will take effort and commitment on your part to re-train your old patterns and bad habits. But the effort to transform yourself and your life is totally worth it. The only healing anyone ever regrets is the healing never done. Time flies, and habits don't change just with time, but with doing things differently. Developing new brain pathways (grown by practicing new thinking habits and relationship dynamics) comes by learning new, healthier ways of thinking and coping with stress that you haven't had a chance to learn yet. Most people who stick with therapy see great benefits and wish they had started sooner! :)
Attachment-based
The way we attach to caregivers as children sets a "relationship template" for the way we attach to partners in romantic relationships as adults. Understanding your attachment style and learning how to correct internalized beliefs that cause you to feel insecure can make a world of difference in boosting your confidence in relationships.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a way to learn to pay attention to and learn to choose what you're thinking about rather than feeling stuck in thought spirals and "being too much in your head". Based on a model that helps people understand their options to choose which thoughts they think, feelings they feel and behaviors they make rather than being on default mode and feeling out of control.
Psychodynamic
We all start as children who are like sponges and absorb the influences of the home and family we grow up with. This "inner child" stays with us as we grow into adults, and dysfunctional relationships we had, traumas we experienced and negative messages we took in as truths - can have a big impact on our self-esteem, confidence and relationships that are hard to change on our own. Psychodynamic therapy connects current mental health and relationship problems and finds the "root" of the problem by looking at childhood experiences and distorted beliefs we took in as children, and corrects and replaces those false beliefs with healthier, more mature ones that help us function as adults rather than as children in adult bodies!
4 ratings with written reviews
July 16, 2025
Maria has had the most profound impact on my life. She is thoughtful, a great listener, and provides solutions or ways of thinking that stretch me but are attainable. As such, so many things have improved which has enabled me to be a better business owner, wife, mother, and friend. Thank you Maria for all you do!
June 19, 2025
Maria is wonderful! I am so glad that I found her to be my therapist!
April 24, 2025
Maria is the best therapist I’ve ever seen. For years I tried to find a therapist that understood me and it wasn’t until I connected with Maria that I started to feel like healing was even possible. She always leaves me feeling more empowered and more confident on my healing journey. I have grown so much since starting with Maria, I still have a ways to go and I’m so grateful to be continuing my growth with her!