About Bertha
Bertha Ruvalcaba is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people cope with stress, anxiety, trauma, and depression. She speaks English and Spanish and draws on two decades of clinical experience in California. Her approach is warm and straightforward, aimed at making the first steps feel manageable for someone who is worried or overwhelmed.
She creates a calm space where clients can name what feels hard and work toward small, clear goals.
Background and approach
Sessions are conversational and down-to-earth, with practical tools introduced when they fit the person’s needs. She listens for patterns in thinking and behavior and offers ways to try different responses in everyday life. Bertha uses methods that focus on values, present-moment awareness, and changing unhelpful thinking.
She blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness-based techniques to address anxiety, relationship strain, or reactions after trauma. This mix is intended to help people build coping skills and notice what matters to them. Over 20 years she has supported people facing life changes like divorce, caregiving stress, adoption-related concerns, postpartum mood shifts, and recovery after abuse.
She also addresses anger, low self-esteem, loneliness, and issues linked to bipolar mood patterns. Sessions aim to be practical, paced to the person, and rooted in everyday challenges. Starting therapy with her includes a short intake and clear next steps.
She encourages steady progress rather than quick fixes, and works with each person to find workable strategies that fit their life.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values, even when anxiety or difficult feelings are present. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety and improve mood. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices that can help someone feel steadier in everyday moments.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals, what has helped before, and what feels realistic. That collaboration guides which methods are emphasized and how skills are practiced between sessions.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to offer flexibility. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and skill demonstrations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging are helpful for brief updates, practicing skills, or keeping momentum between meetings. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy life while still focusing on measurable progress.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English, Spanish
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