About Howard
Howard Acosta is a California licensed clinical social worker with 24 years of experience. He focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and major life changes. Howard aims to build a straightforward, respectful working relationship that feels practical and down to earth.
Howard uses clear, skills-based methods so clients can notice change between sessions. He blends cognitive behavioral techniques with mindfulness and motivational interviewing to address thoughts, habits, and motivation.
Background and approach
Sessions often include short exercises, goal-setting, and steps to try between meetings. He has long experience supporting people from diverse backgrounds, including LGBTQ individuals, veterans, and older adults. Howard also works with concerns related to adoption and foster care, fatherhood, aging and end-of-life issues, and substance use.
He pays attention to how multiple issues interact in a person’s life so treatment stays focused and realistic. Howard keeps language simple and practical in sessions. He helps people break big problems into small, doable actions.
Work may include coping skills for panic, strategies for low mood, or plans to reduce risky substance use. People who prefer direct guidance and clear steps often find his style helpful. He aims to collaborate on goals, check progress, and adjust plans as needed.
Howard supports international clients and holds sessions in English.
How online approaches and tools support change
Howard often draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and try different behaviors. CBT focuses on simple experiments you can do between sessions to reduce anxiety, manage mood, or break unhelpful habits.He also uses mindfulness therapy to build attention and tolerance for strong feelings. Mindfulness practice can help with stress, compulsive urges, and managing intense emotions without getting swept away.
Finding the right mix of techniques is part of the work. Howard will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, preferences, and day-to-day life. Plans are adjusted along the way based on what is helpful.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video lets you work with visual cues and exercises. Phone can be a simpler check-in with less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging allow short updates or ongoing support between meetings. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or travel.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does he address?
How would he describe his therapeutic style?
What is his clinical background?
Where is he based and licensed?
What languages are supported for sessions?
Which session formats are available?
How are fees and billing handled?
What are the first steps to begin?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- 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
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.