Maria Ward, LMFT
California · 13 years in practice
Maria Ward is a licensed marriage and family therapist who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, and trauma.
License and registration
- LMFT, California
- 98143 · expires May 2026
- NPI
- 1184932006 · national provider identifier
- Years in practice
- 13
- Languages
- English, Spanish
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the license with the issuing state board, and the NPI with the national registry.
About Maria
Maria Ward is a licensed marriage and family therapist who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, and trauma. She speaks English and Spanish and brings 13 years of experience to sessions. She aims to listen first and work at the clients pace.
Taking a step toward help is often the hardest part, and she supports that decision. Maria uses clear, practical methods to address everyday struggles like anger, depression, and addiction.
Background and approach
She helps people who are coping with career changes, grief, or shifts in mood. She also supports clients dealing with intimacy concerns, self-esteem, and parenting challenges. Sessions are meant to build skills and understanding for handling lifes ups and downs.
Her approach draws on Existential therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients clarify values and make meaningful changes. She also uses Attachment-Based and Client-Centered techniques to strengthen relationships and increase emotional awareness. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools are offered when helpful to change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns.
Maria has worked with issues tied to family structure, adoption and foster care, aging and caregiver stress, body image, and codependency. She also offers support for people navigating divorce, separation, or recovery from domestic violence and substance misuse. Practical coping skills and steady emotional support are a consistent focus.
Sessions can be arranged in different formats to fit busy lives. Maria aims to collaborate with each person to set goals that feel realistic and relevant. She wants clients to leave sessions with concrete steps they can try between meetings.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Maria lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
- Depression
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Maria names
- Existential Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Gottman Method
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
How therapeutic approaches work online
Maria often uses Existential therapy to help people clarify values and find meaning when life feels confusing or overwhelming. That approach focuses on choices, responsibility, and what matters most in everyday life. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, pairs well with this work by teaching practical ways to accept difficult feelings and commit to actions that match personal values. Attachment-Based Therapy is used to notice how early bonds affect present relationships and to build safer ways of relating.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Maria will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they decide whether to emphasize values work, acceptance skills, relationship patterns, or more structured behavior change. The plan can change as needs shift over time.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy easier to fit into daily life. Video lets people use visual cues and longer conversations. Phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited or the camera feels like too much. Live chat and text are useful for brief check-ins, quick skill practice, or people who prefer not to speak out loud. These options give flexibility and make it simpler to keep regular contact with a licensed professional.
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Questions people ask
What kinds of problems does this therapist help with?
Maria works with a broad range of concerns including stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, anger, depression, addictions, relationship and family issues, grief, intimacy problems, eating concerns, parenting, self-esteem, career changes, bipolar mood concerns, and ADHD.
How would you describe the therapy style and approach?
She blends Existential therapy with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Client-Centered methods. The style is collaborative and values-focused, with practical tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy when useful.
What is Maria Ward's professional background?
Maria has 13 years of professional experience working as a therapist. Her work includes supporting people through trauma, mood shifts, parenting challenges, addiction, and interpersonal difficulties.
Where is the therapist licensed and located?
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California and provides services from that state.
Are sessions available in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish. Maria also accepts international clients.
What session formats are offered?
Therapy can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with therapy?
Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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