About Marla
Marla Maynard is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California with 18 years of practice. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and relationship or intimacy concerns.
Background and approach
She also supports those coping with parenting challenges, caregiver strain, and compassion fatigue. Her approach is straightforward and conversational.
Sessions focus on listening, clarifying problems, and trying practical steps that can be used between meetings. She aims to make the space feel calm and nonjudgmental so people can talk about hard things without pressure.
Marla draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to address mood and behavior changes. She uses tools suited to each concern, such as skills for managing anxiety, strategies for improving communication, and methods to process grief or trauma.
Goals are set together and revisited as progress is made. She has worked with a wide range of issues including bipolar mood concerns, attachment and family of origin problems, codependency, domestic violence, and the stress that follows natural or human-caused disasters.
She also offers support for aging and geriatric issues, autism and Asperger Syndrome related concerns, and blended family questions. Sessions are available in English and Marla is open to working with international clients.
Her style is practical, patient, and focused on helping people take achievable steps forward.
Evidence-based approaches and online care
Marla uses practical, evidence-based techniques to help with common problems. One approach focuses on teaching skills to manage anxiety and depression, like breathing, behavioral activation, and simple routines to reduce overwhelm. These methods help people feel steadier day to day. Another approach centers on communication and relationship skills; it helps people learn clearer ways to express needs, set boundaries, and repair conflict in ongoing relationships.Choosing a method is a collaborative process. Marla works with each person to decide which techniques match their needs and goals, then adjusts the plan over time. She checks progress regularly and shifts focus when something isn’t working well for the client.
Online therapy offers flexibility and makes it easier to fit sessions into busy lives. Video calls are useful when visual cues matter and allow deeper conversation. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let people share thoughts between sessions or use a quieter format when typing works better. These options let clients schedule care around work, caregiving, or travel while still working toward their goals.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Sexuality
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English