01 · Who Marcia works with

Marcia works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and self esteem

Marcia lists 10 specialisms and 23 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Marcia chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Marcia's own words

What Marcia says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am licensed in California with 25 years of professional work experience. I have delivered counseling and therapy to clients who presented with an array of life challenges, from stress and anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, self esteem, and lack of self-confidence. I believe that you are the expert of your story and that you have many strengths that will assist you in overcoming things that challenge you. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process.

Marcia Howard, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Marcia works

The 4 approaches Marcia lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Marcia lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Marcia's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Marcia runs a session.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Marcia practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Marcia's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Marcia at this point.

2. Naming Marcia specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Marcia is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Marcia.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Marcia

Built from what Marcia actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Marcia's - Marcia has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 20 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

• “You offer sessions in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Does the work change depending on which we use?”

  People often reach different material in a first language than in a second. Worth naming before you choose.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LCSW 23049

Licence number

23049

Licence expires

31 Jan 2027

NPI

1811021496

Years in practice

20

Gender

Female

Languages

English, Spanish, Portuguese

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Marcia's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Marcia. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.