01 · Who Marla works with

Marla works with stress, Anxiety, trauma and abuse and grief

Marla lists 9 specialisms and 26 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Marla chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Marla's own words

What Marla says about the work

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

I am licensed in California, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina with 40 years of professional work experience. I have experience in helping clients with stress, anxiety, trauma, abuse, coping with grief, coping with loss, & coping with life changes. I also have experience working with compassion fatigue. 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 sign up for therapy can take courage and I am proud of you for getting started!

Marla Gentile, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Marla works

The 6 approaches Marla lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Marla lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Marla'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 Marla 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.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and ReprocessingEMDR

A structured trauma protocol in which you hold a distressing memory in mind while following a repeated side-to-side cue. The mechanism is still debated; the outcome data in post-traumatic stress is strong enough that it appears in national treatment guidelines.

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.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

Also listed

• Somatic Therapy

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Marla 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 Marla'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 Marla at this point.

2. Naming Marla specifically

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

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 Marla

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

• “You list both Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing 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.

• “With 40 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.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCMHC

Licensed in

California

Licence

NC LCMHC 6854, SC LPC 11440

Licence number

9792

Licence expires

30 Jun 2027

NPI

1750722005

Years in practice

40

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

9 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Marla'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 Marla. 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.