Maria Cusimano-Carl , LMFT

Maria Cusimano-Carl is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) practicing in California since 2003. She has led groups on relapse prevention and on rebuilding trust between partners after recovery, drawing on experience working with both individuals and families in those areas.

Her training includes Internal Family Systems theory and practice, which she uses to help people explore internal dynamics and relational patterns that affect behavior and connection. Maria brings a blend of group facilitation and individual and family therapy to support clients through recovery, relationship repair, and related challenges.

She works with adults and is currently seeing clients ages 18 and older, focusing on practical strategies and relational understanding to help clients move forward. Her approach emphasizes collaboration and tailoring sessions to each person or family's specific needs and goals.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Maria Cusimano-Carl integrates client-centered therapy into her online work, providing a respectful, nonjudgmental space where clients' perspectives guide the pace and focus of sessions. This approach helps people feel heard and supported while exploring relationship and personal concerns.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and teach practical skills for managing stress, anxiety, and mood. CBT is action-oriented and often useful when clients want concrete strategies to change behaviors and reactions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills are incorporated when emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance are priorities. DBT techniques can support clients navigating intense emotions or relational conflicts.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Maria works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences, and adapts techniques as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Maria is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to access licensed professionals from home or elsewhere while maintaining continuity of care and coordination with each client’s treatment goals.