Mara Bruckner, LMFT

Mara Bruckner is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 22 years of experience in California. She has worked in private practice and in county and state-funded programs, supporting people across the lifespan. Mara often helps with midlife concerns alongside stress, anxiety, relationship strains, depression, and parenting challenges.

Her early work included behavior-focused services for children, teens, and adults on the autism spectrum. That work involved play therapy, applied behavior analysis, social skills groups, and guidance for parents. In private practice she has a lot of experience supporting teens and adults with Asperger's or high functioning autism, and adults managing anxiety and mood concerns.

Mara uses a warm, interactive style and sometimes brings humor into sessions to ease heavy topics. She asks clients to take an active role in setting goals and shaping sessions. Treatment draws from client-centered, psychodynamic, solution-focused, and cognitive behavioral approaches as fits the person's needs.

She tailors strategies to the individual rather than following a single method. Sessions can focus on practical skills, understanding past patterns, or short-term goal work depending on what someone wants. Mara emphasizes collaboration so people feel part of the plan for change.

People come to her for help with life transitions, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, and coping with feelings like guilt or emptiness. She also addresses concerns such as hoarding, impulsivity, isolation, and communication problems.

How her approaches fit into online therapy

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person in the room and on what they need most. It involves active listening, reflection, and helping people notice their own strengths so they can make changes. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact and uses practical exercises and homework to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns. Psychodynamic work pays attention to past experiences and patterns that shape current behaviors and relationships, helping people understand recurring themes in their lives.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Mara collaborates with each person to decide whether skills-focused CBT, insight-oriented psychodynamic work, or a client-centered path - or a mix - will best meet their goals. This is discussed openly and adjusted over time based on progress and preference.

Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week and to maintain consistency during life transitions. It also allows for flexible check-ins and options that may better suit someone who needs shorter sessions or fewer visual demands. Confirm which session formats Mara currently offers before booking so arrangements match your schedule and needs.