About William
William Martinez is a licensed clinical social worker with 15 years of experience helping people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strains, and addiction concerns. He speaks English and Spanish and works with adults on issues like grief, intimacy, parenting challenges, and coping with life changes. William aims to make hard conversations easier and practical steps clearer for each person he meets.
He prefers straightforward work. Sessions focus on understanding what feels most difficult now and trying small, concrete changes that add up.
Background and approach
William uses tools from cognitive behavioral approaches to spot unhelpful thoughts and from attachment-based ideas to improve connection and trust in relationships. For couples and partners he leans on communication skills drawn from the Gottman method to reduce conflict and rebuild teamwork.
He also uses elements of dialectical behavior therapy for emotion regulation and motivational interviewing when people are navigating change or addiction concerns. These approaches are used in simple, actionable ways rather than abstract theory. William has substantial experience supporting people who grew up with disrupted caregiving, adoption or foster backgrounds, and those facing caregiver stress or parenting a child with special needs.
He pays attention to how family patterns and old losses shape current reactions and choices. Sessions can include short coaching-style work, concrete skill practice, and space to process painful feelings. The goal is steady progress over time, with plans adjusted to each person’s needs and pace.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape trust and closeness now. In online sessions this can translate to exercises that help partners or individuals notice patterns and practice new ways of connecting. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavior changes to improve mood and reduce anxiety. Online CBT often uses short skill-building tasks between sessions. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, offers concrete tools for managing intense emotions and improving distress tolerance; it is useful when people struggle with overwhelming reactions or impulsive behaviors.Deciding which approach to use is a collaborative process. The therapist will ask about your goals, current struggles, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together you will try approaches that fit your needs and adjust over time based on progress and preference.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is low or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and messaging are helpful for brief check-ins, coaching prompts, or when a shorter touchpoint is needed between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep working steadily on goals.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English, Spanish