Marcia Pontoni, LCSW - Therapist in California

About Marcia

Marcia Pontoni is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience. She focuses on practical, person-centered work and uses straightforward talk to help people navigate hard moments. She emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and compassion in sessions.

Parents reading on a phone will find clear language and a calm approach focused on daily steps forward. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thoughts and change small behaviors that make a difference.

Background and approach

She also brings mindfulness practices into sessions to help with stress, anxiety, and emotional regulation. Marcia adapts conversations and plans to fit each person's situation rather than applying one fixed method. Her practice includes support for relationship concerns, grief and loss, depression, coping with life changes, stress and anxiety, and issues related to addiction and trauma.

She also addresses intimacy-related worries, anger, compassion fatigue, and a range of family-related struggles. Additional focus areas include aging and geriatric issues, cancer support, hospice and end-of-life counseling, and family of origin problems. Marcia works from California and conducts sessions in English.

She offers several remote formats so people can choose what feels easiest for them. Her style is collaborative and steady, aimed at helping clients take manageable steps toward clearer thinking and more workable routines. She encourages anyone ready to begin to take the first step and explains next actions plainly.

The work begins by matching needs, picking a communication method, and setting simple goals together.

How Marcia’s Approaches Work Online

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and tailoring the conversation to what matters most to the client. It helps people feel heard and involved in planning next steps. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at patterns of thinking and behavior and teaches simple tools to reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms and improve daily routines.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Marcia works with clients to decide which methods fit their needs and goals. She adjusts plans as progress is made and invites feedback about what is or is not helping.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to give flexibility for busy schedules. These options allow someone to meet from home, during a break, or while balancing caregiving and work. The variety of formats makes it easier to keep momentum between sessions and to use therapeutic tools in real life.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.

Mindfulness Therapy

Attention training: noticing thoughts and physical feelings as they arrive without being carried off by them. Much of it is practice you do yourself, so guidance over video or audio works much as it would in person.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of problems does she help with?

She addresses relationship concerns, grief, depression, anxiety, stress, addictions, trauma, intimacy-related issues, anger, and compassion fatigue. She also works with many family-related struggles and related concerns listed in her focus areas.

What is her therapeutic style like?

Her approach is person-centered and practical. She uses clear conversation, goal-setting, and tools from CBT and mindfulness to make small changes that add up.

How long has she been practicing?

She has 25 years of professional experience as a clinician in California.

What are her credentials and where is she based?

She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, CA LCSW 18141, practicing from California.

Which languages are sessions offered in?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can international clients work with her?

International clients are not currently accepted.

What session formats does she use?

She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging so clients can pick the format that fits their life.

How are payments and getting started handled?

Session cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

LGBT
Relationship issues
Grief

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 25 years
Licensed: California
Languages: English

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