Cristina Spataro , LMHC

Cristina Spataro is a New York State licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with 18 years of experience. She focuses on women's issues alongside a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family challenges, grief, trauma, and addiction. Cristina writes plainly and listens closely to help people make sense of hard choices and painful moments.

Her approach centers on the person in front of her. She uses client-centered methods to build trust and to follow what matters most to each person. She also draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and patterns that keep them stuck.

Cristina has spent nearly two decades working with people in crisis, and she prefers helping people before difficulties reach a breaking point. She supports those facing life transitions, parenting strain, intimacy concerns, career uncertainty, and compassion fatigue. She also addresses adoption and foster care questions, abandonment issues, and identity matters common in LGBT experiences.

Sessions are practical and straightforward. Cristina helps clients set clear goals, try concrete strategies, and check progress together. She emphasizes small, doable steps that fit everyday life and values each person’s pace.

Based in New York, she offers sessions in English. Cristina encourages people who feel overwhelmed or stuck to reach out and start the process of finding clearer direction and more manageable days.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Cient-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the client's lead. Online sessions let the therapist hear what matters most and respond in a way that fits each person's goals and pace. This approach helps when someone needs understanding, validation, and a space to sort feelings.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, uses clear steps to spot unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors. In online work this can mean homework between sessions, tracking moods in text, or practicing new skills during a video call. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and changing patterns that cause distress.

Choosing the right approach is a joint process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try methods that suit those goals, and adjust as progress is made. That collaborative decision-making continues across video, phone, chat, or messaging formats.

Online sessions offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let clients send thoughts between sessions and fit therapy into busy days. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while juggling work, family, and other responsibilities.