Mara Bruckner

Mara Bruckner is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 22 years of clinical experience in California. She has worked in private practice and in county and state funded agencies, and she has supported people across a wide range of life stages and concerns. Mara aims to make therapy approachable and practical for people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, anger, or relationship problems.

She has experience providing behavior-focused services for children, teens, and adults on the autistic spectrum, including play therapy, applied behavior analysis support, and social skills groups. In private practice she has worked extensively with teens and adults who identify with Asperger's or high functioning autism, alongside people managing anxiety, depression, and transition-related challenges.

Mara prefers a warm, interactive counseling style and will often use light humor to ease tension. She describes therapy as a collaborative process and invites clients to take an active role in shaping sessions. Her goal is to tailor methods to the person in front of her rather than using a single rigid approach.

Her work draws on several approaches including client-centered, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and solution-focused therapies. Cognitive behavioral methods are a central part of her practice and she uses them to address mood, anxiety, and relationship concerns.

Mara supports people dealing with grief, addiction, self-esteem concerns, parenting strain, career stress, bipolar mood challenges, and coping with life changes. She also addresses specific themes such as abandonment, communication problems, hoarding, impulsivity, and isolation. Her practice emphasizes practical steps and steady progress.

Combining practical methods and collaborative care online

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person rather than on strictly following a manual. The therapist listens deeply, reflects what she hears, and helps people name goals they care about. This approach is helpful for building trust and for issues tied to self-esteem and relationship patterns.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact. It uses straightforward exercises to test unhelpful thinking and build new habits, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, anger, and stress-related problems.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to figure out what feels most useful based on needs, goals, and preferences. Sessions can blend techniques so that the plan shifts as progress is made.

Please confirm which session formats are offered before booking, since the biography does not list specific options. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life - for example scheduling shorter check-ins during a lunch break or joining from a quieter location when travel is difficult. Discussing practical arrangements up front helps shape sessions to match everyday routines.