About Mara
Mara Bruckner is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in California with 22 years of experience. She has worked in independent practice and in county and state funded agencies. Mara has substantial experience supporting people who face anxiety, depression, and challenges related to autism spectrum presentations.
Her early work included behavior-focused programs for children, teens, and adults with autism spectrum differences. That work involved play therapy, applied behavior analysis support, social skills groups, and coaching for parents.
Background and approach
In independent practice she has continued to see teens and adults who are navigating anxiety, mood concerns, and the social challenges that can come with Asperger's or high functioning autism. Mara blends practical tools with longer-term conversation. She draws from cognitive behavioral approaches to help people change unhelpful thinking and behavior.
She also uses psychodynamic ideas to look at patterns from the past and solution-focused methods to set reachable goals. Her manner is warm and interactive, with a straightforward, personable tone. She says humor can help lift heavy topics and aims to treat each person with respect.
Sessions are designed together so people can take an active role in choosing what feels most helpful. Mara works with a wide range of concerns including stress, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, parenting strain, addiction, self-esteem, career transitions, and coping with life changes. She is available for people who prefer short-term problem solving or longer-term therapy depending on their needs.
How Mara's Approaches Work Online
Mara commonly uses cognitive behavioral and client-centered approaches during online work. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors through concrete exercises, making it useful for anxiety, phobias, and mood concerns. Client-centered work focuses on listening closely and helping people find their own solutions, which can be helpful for building self-esteem and working through relationship or life changes. Choosing an approach is collaborative. Mara will discuss goals and preferences during early sessions and combine methods to match what each person needs. That may mean using CBT tools one week and a more reflective, client-centered conversation the next. Online formats offer practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for deeper interaction. Phone sessions may be easier when someone has limited bandwidth or prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief check-ins, homework, or people who express themselves better in writing. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family, or school schedules while working with licensed professionals.Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sexual dysfunction
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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