Kirsten Suarez

Kirsten Suarez is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people manage stress, anxiety, anger, depression, parenting challenges, and life changes. She also supports people facing ADHD, bipolar symptoms, and issues related to LGBT identity and relationships. Kirsten works in California and offers therapy in English.

Her style is warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental. Sessions focus on practical steps people can use right away. Conversations and plans are tailored to the person sitting in front of her, with respect and compassion guiding the work.

Kirsten draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients clarify values and act on them, and Solution-Focused methods to set short-term goals and track progress. Mindfulness and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills are woven in when they fit a client's needs.

Before becoming an LMFT, Kirsten worked for many years in behavior analysis, particularly supporting people with autism and developmental differences. That background shaped a practical, skills-based approach to problems such as obsessions, compulsions, panic, and caregiver stress.

Therapy with Kirsten is presented as a team effort. She aims to help people find workable strategies for everyday life and to build routines that reduce overwhelm. If someone is ready to try changes, she offers steady support and clear next steps.

How ACT and CBT translate to online sessions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people clarify what matters to them and take small actions toward those values. In practice this looks like naming priorities, trying new behaviors between meetings, and noticing thoughts without getting stuck in them. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new responses. It often involves behavioral experiments, simple skill practice, and tracking patterns that feed anxiety, anger, or low mood.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals and preferences and choose methods that fit their situation. Together they can adjust techniques over time if something isn’t helping.

Confirm the available session formats before booking so you know what options exist. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people practice skills in the settings where their challenges happen and then bring observations back to the next session for discussion.