Maria Caruso

Maria Caruso is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with 20 years of clinical experience. She practices in New Jersey and uses straightforward, practical methods to help people manage stress, grief, relationship strain, anger, and life transitions. Maria writes plainly and focuses on clear goals for therapy.

She frames counseling as a working partnership. Sessions are a place to set shared goals and try realistic steps that fit daily life. Maria often asks clients to try journaling, brief tasks between sessions, or creative prompts to uncover thoughts and feelings that are hard to name.

Maria blends approaches to match each person’s needs. She draws from client-centered work to follow what matters most to the client. She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify patterns that keep problems going, and Narrative Therapy to help people rewrite painful stories about themselves.

Her background includes work with people facing serious illness, loss, and major life changes, as well as experience in corporate settings guiding career transitions. That breadth informs a flexible style focused on problem-solving and emotional understanding.

Sessions aim to be practical and goal-oriented while holding space for grief and complicated feelings. Maria helps people build small steps toward clearer boundaries, better communication, and less reactivity. She supports coaching goals as well as deeper therapy work.

How her approaches shape online care

Maria uses Client-Centered Therapy to follow what matters most to each person, creating space for the client's priorities and pacing. This approach helps when someone needs a steady, listening presence and wants to set the agenda for change.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to notice thinking and behavior patterns that keep problems going. CBT offers concrete tools for anxiety, depression, stress, and anger management, such as tracking thoughts and trying short behavioral experiments between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Maria discusses goals and preferences with each person and may combine methods to fit their needs. This is a collaborative process that can change as progress is made.

The original profile does not specify which online formats are used, so confirm available session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. It can also let someone use quieter surroundings or skip video when that better suits their comfort level.