Maria Castro , LMHC

Maria Castro is a licensed mental health counselor in Washington with 12 years of clinical experience. She offers therapy in English and Spanish and focuses on practical help for everyday problems. Maria aims to make therapy understandable and useful for people feeling overwhelmed by life. Her approach is person-centered and strengths-based. She treats each person as the expert on their life and helps them find steps that fit their needs. Sessions are aimed at building skills, clarifying goals, and reducing distress so daily life becomes more manageable. Maria uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing to shape sessions. That means she helps clients notice patterns in thoughts and behaviors, set small achievable goals, and stay motivated to change. She adapts techniques to what feels most helpful for each person. She has worked with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting strain, relationship difficulties, ADHD, bipolar mood issues, and postpartum depression. Additional focuses include communication problems, grief, guilt and shame, and multicultural issues. Maria listens for practical ways to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning. People who choose her often want a collaborative, respectful space where goals are clear and progress is tracked. She supports clients through transitions, crisis recovery, and longer-term mood challenges. If someone prefers Spanish sessions, she provides care in that language as well.

Approaches that translate well to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and supporting the person's own goals. The therapist mirrors concerns, prioritizes respect, and helps clients name what they want to change or keep. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors to reduce symptoms; it often uses short exercises and homework that work well between online sessions.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Maria will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, needs, and preferences. That choice can shift over time as progress is made, and she checks in regularly to adjust direction.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging are useful for brief updates, focused problem-solving, and keeping momentum between longer sessions. These options make scheduling more flexible and can help people fit therapy into busy days.