Marla Carman

Marla Carman uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people manage strong feelings and disruptive patterns. She combines talk-based work with skills practice so people can reduce anger, stress, or anxiety and improve day-to-day functioning. Marla brings 21 years of experience to sessions and speaks with straightforward, compassionate language.

Clients can expect clear goals and short-term strategies alongside deeper work when needed. She draws on acceptance and commitment ideas to help people notice what matters, and on cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and habits. Mindfulness practices are used to build tolerance for intense emotions.

Marla also works with trauma-related concerns and uses EMDR as one of her tools when appropriate. She addresses relationship and intimacy-related issues, grief, depression, addiction, sleep and eating struggles, and career or life transitions. Her additional focuses include caregiver stress, body image, codependency, and challenges tied to family of origin.

Marla holds the Licensed Mental Health Counselor credential and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She practices in Arizona and draws on two decades of clinical work to support practical change. Sessions aim to be collaborative, with concrete steps and regular check-ins on progress.

People who want a therapist who combines skills training with reflective work may find her style helpful. The emphasis is on making daily life more manageable, reducing reactivity, and building values-based action that lasts.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and commit to small actions that match those values. Online ACT sessions often include exercises to notice thoughts and choose value-driven steps that can be practiced between appointments. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with behavioral experiments. In online CBT sessions, clients may receive worksheets, plan real-life experiments, and review results with the therapist. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) targets distress tied to traumatic memories through structured protocols; when EMDR is used online, the therapist guides memory processing while clients follow bilateral stimulation methods adapted for remote work.

Finding the right approach is usually a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they choose methods and adjust them as progress is made, focusing on what works in the person’s daily life.

The practical benefits of online care include fitting sessions into a busy schedule and keeping momentum between appointments. Online work can make it easier to attend from different locations, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Because session formats were not specified in the biography, confirm the currently offered formats before booking so you know what will fit your routine.