Mary Cabarles, LCSW

Mary Cabarles is a California-based licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 18 years of experience. She helps people manage anxiety, stress, grief, trauma, and life transitions. Mary listens, talks through immediate concerns, and works with each person to set clear, practical steps forward.

She has worked across many settings, including group homes, residential care, job coaching, and public-sector services. That background includes work with people facing homelessness, domestic violence, criminal justice involvement, and complex, co-occurring disorders. Mary has experience with adults, elders, and people in hospice settings.

In private practice she focuses on real-life problems like strained communication, caregiver stress, self-esteem, addiction concerns, and intimacy-related issues. She also supports people dealing with aging and geriatric issues and the emotional impact of serious illness such as cancer. Sessions aim to be straightforward and goal-oriented, with an emphasis on what helps day to day.

Mary uses approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and client-centered methods to address symptoms and patterns. She also draws on attachment-based and existential perspectives to help people understand relationships and personal meaning.

Her practice grew during the pandemic out of a desire to help people manage mounting stressors like job changes, displacement, and caregiving strain. Mary offers weekend availability and focuses on creating a calm, practical space to sort through problems and plan next steps.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts without being ruled by them and then focus on actions that match their values. It can be useful for anxiety, stress, grief, and life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and offers concrete skills to change unhelpful patterns, which often helps with anxiety, depression, and coping with difficult situations. Client-centered therapy centers the person’s experience, offering empathic listening and collaborative pacing to build clarity and confidence.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Mary will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they’ll try strategies and adjust the plan based on what helps in everyday life.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also help people keep therapy going through relocations or changing caregiving demands. Licensed professionals can adapt ACT, CBT, and client-centered techniques to an online setting to focus on practical skills and problem solving.