About Howard
Howard Acosta brings 24 years of clinical experience to his practice in California. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - LCSW who focuses on practical support for people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, depression, grief, and self-esteem challenges. Howard emphasizes a respectful, down-to-earth approach so people feel heard from the first session.
He works with people dealing with life changes, parenting strain, and issues related to adoption and foster care.
Background and approach
His practice also addresses veteran and armed forces issues, aging and geriatric concerns, and struggles like isolation, impulsivity, and compulsive behaviors. Howard pays attention to how social identity and life context shape a person’s needs. Howard uses straightforward techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-informed approaches.
He also draws on motivational interviewing and solution-focused ideas to help people set realistic goals and make steady progress. Sessions aim to build practical skills for managing symptoms and everyday stressors. In sessions he focuses on clear steps, small experiments, and teaching coping tools people can use between meetings.
He helps people break problems into manageable parts and track what works. The tone is collaborative and goal-oriented, while remaining flexible to each person’s pace. Howard offers services in English and accepts international clients.
He combines long experience with an emphasis on practical change, helping people move from feeling stuck to feeling more capable in day-to-day life.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Howard commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT sessions often include setting clear goals, trying short experiments between sessions, and practicing new skills to reduce anxiety or improve mood.He also incorporates mindfulness therapy to teach simple awareness and grounding exercises. Mindfulness can help reduce rumination, manage stress, and improve emotional regulation through short practices that fit into daily life.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Howard collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and comfort level. He reviews what helps and adjusts plans as progress unfolds so the approach stays practical and relevant.
Online sessions make therapy more flexible. Video calls let people use face-to-face conversation when more interaction is helpful. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for quick check-ins. Live chat and text messaging support ongoing coaching, brief check-ins, and written exercises between longer sessions. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and keep skills active between meetings.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Co-morbidity
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 24 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English