About Maritza
Maritza Villacis is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who helps people cope with stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and relationship strain. She speaks English and Spanish and brings 15 years of clinical experience to each conversation. Maritza aims to build a straightforward, human connection so clients can feel heard and understood from the first session.
She uses clear, practical methods to address everyday problems. Sessions focus on what is happening now and on skills people can use between meetings.
Background and approach
Maritza blends tools from cognitive approaches, emotionally-focused work, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to tailor support to each person’s needs. Her background includes long-term counseling work across community settings and with diverse concerns such as trauma, addiction, caregiver stress, and aging-related issues. That history helps her stay grounded when people face big changes or painful memories.
She favors plain language over jargon and aims to make therapy feel conversational, not clinical. Maritza encourages clients to bring real-life situations into sessions. Together they break down patterns, try new reactions, and practice communication skills that affect daily life.
Progress can look like clearer boundaries, better sleep, fewer panic moments, or more satisfying relationships. Clients often choose her for steady support during transitions, grief, or when stress becomes overwhelming. She describes counseling as a process that can be hard at times, but also as a place to learn ways to cope and rebuild after setbacks.
Approaches that translate well to online therapy
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) centers on understanding and shifting emotional responses in relationships. In an online session this can mean naming core emotions, tracking patterns, and practicing new ways of reaching out to others to improve closeness or reduce conflict.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting unhelpful thoughts and testing them with real-life experiments. Online sessions can include short behavioral assignments, thought records, and step-by-step plans to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, or change addictive habits.
Mindfulness Therapy trains simple attention and breathing skills to calm the body and steady the mind. These exercises are easy to practice during a video or phone visit and can be used between sessions to manage stress or intrusive thoughts.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together the client and therapist adjust methods over time so the plan fits daily life and specific challenges.
Online therapy offers flexibility for busy schedules. Video visits let people meet face-to-face without travel. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit a break at work. Live chat or text messaging work well for brief check-ins, journaling between sessions, or when someone prefers written communication. These options make it easier to keep momentum and practice skills consistently.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Multicultural concerns
- Parenting issues
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English, Spanish