About Ivan
Ivan Ayala is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker practicing in Minnesota. He has 13 years of experience helping people manage anxiety, stress, depression, relationship struggles, and addiction. Ivan speaks English and Spanish and works with adults facing life transitions and ongoing concerns.
He uses direct, practical conversations to help people identify what matters most. Sessions focus on real-life goals like better sleep, clearer communication, healthier boundaries, and coping with grief.
Background and approach
He draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to shift unhelpful thoughts and support values-based action. Ivan also uses client-centered and mindfulness approaches to slow things down and notice patterns. Motivational Interviewing is used when people want help with change around substance use, procrastination, or other habits.
The therapist adjusts methods to fit each person's situation and goals rather than following a single script. Over his career Ivan has worked with people dealing with trauma, intimacy-related concerns, parenting stress, and career decisions. He pays attention to family of origin issues, blended family dynamics, and commitment or codependency problems when those come up.
Sessions are practical and focused on what the client can try between meetings. People who choose Ivan can expect a warm, respectful tone and straightforward feedback. He aims to make sessions useful and grounded in everyday life.
To start, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule according to the therapist's availability.
Online approaches that meet you where you are
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and take small steps toward them even when anxiety or uncomfortable feelings show up. It focuses on what matters and builds practical habits to support those aims. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts, behaviors, and routines that keep anxiety and low mood active and teaches concrete skills to change them. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes being heard and understood; sessions offer a supportive space where people can make sense of their experience and find their own solutions.Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then try approaches that fit. Work is collaborative and adjusts over time based on what helps most.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video suits deeper, face-to-face work and moments that need visual cues. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier during a busy day. Live chat and text messaging allow quick check-ins, brief coaching, or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, parenting, or travel schedules while keeping care consistent.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 13 years
- Licensed
- Minnesota
- Languages
- English, Spanish
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