01 · Who Margarita works with

Margarita works with family conflicts, parenting issues and depression

Margarita lists 15 specialisms and 29 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Margarita chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Margarita's own words

What Margarita says about the work

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

I graduated with a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and a Minor in French from the University of Redlands. After working with children and families in Illinois and California, I went back to school and earned my Masters in Social Work from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. I worked as a social worker in Hospice and as a suicide and crisis counselor in Louisiana. I completed a program in the Theory and Practice of Mediation and Theory and Practice of Family Law Mediation. My areas of expertise include assessment, child abuse and neglect, bilingual therapy, family systems, domestic violence, crisis counseling, and suicide prevention. I offer compassionate and insightful therapy for people experiencing a broad range of issues, including LGBTQ+ issues.

Margarita Araiza-Johnston, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Margarita works

The 6 approaches Margarita lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Margarita lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Margarita'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 Margarita runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

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.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

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

Margarita 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 Margarita'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 Margarita at this point.

2. Naming Margarita specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Margarita 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 Margarita.

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 Margarita

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

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “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.

• “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 and Spanish. 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

New Mexico

Licence

UT LCSW 13322972-3501, NM LCSW C-06992

Licence number

C-06992

Licence expires

30 Jun 2028

NPI

1821232984

Years in practice

10

Gender

Female

Languages

English, Spanish

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Margarita'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 7 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 Margarita. 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.