Dr. Maura Castellanos, CA Psychologist 32123

Dr. Maura Castellanos is a California licensed psychologist with over a decade of experience in mental health. She began her career as a chemical dependency technician and later completed a doctorate in clinical psychology, building practice across clinics, hospitals, correctional settings, and private practice. She brings a clear, practical focus to each session and aims to help people find useful ways forward.

Her background includes work with individuals who face addiction, mood concerns, and stress related to caregiving or life transitions. She has provided psychological assessment and intervention for people of different ages, including children, adolescents, and adults. Work often covers relationship strain, family of origin issues, and challenges tied to grief, trauma, or major life changes.

Dr. Castellanos favors a client-centered stance that centers the person’s experience and goals. She combines that with cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. She also draws on existential ideas and solution-focused methods to help people clarify values and try manageable steps forward.

Sessions tend to focus on concrete strategies for coping, clearer thinking about choices, and small experiments that test new behaviors. She pays attention to practical needs like sleep, substance use, and daily routines when they affect mood and functioning.

People who reach out can expect a collaborative conversation about goals, options, and next steps. To begin, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions based on the therapist’s availability.

How Dr. Castellanos’ Approaches Work Online

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and understanding what matters most to the person. The therapist follows the client’s lead, clarifies goals, and builds a plan that fits their life and values.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. It is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and patterns that keep people stuck by testing small changes and tracking what helps.

Existential ideas help people clarify purpose and meaning when they face major life shifts or persistent emptiness. Solution-focused work adds brief, practical steps so sessions lead to quick, testable changes.

Finding the right mix of approaches is collaborative. The therapist will talk with the client about needs, preferences, and goals, and together they will decide which methods to emphasize as therapy progresses.

Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow follow-ups from whatever space works best. The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Sessions typically focus on achievable goals, skill-building, and planning small steps that can be tried between meetings.