Maria Castro, LMHC

Maria Castro is a Washington state Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with 12 years of experience. She provides therapy in English and Spanish and works with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, ADHD, and anger.

Her background includes long-term work with people who have experienced physical injury and forms of abuse. She also supports individuals facing relationship strain, low self-esteem, grief, and mood disorders. Maria names stress, coping with life changes, and multicultural concerns among her focus areas.

Maria uses an approach that centers the client. She treats people as the experts on their lives and helps them identify practical steps they can take. Sessions often mix cognitive behavioral techniques with solution-focused strategies to address unhelpful thoughts and to build small, workable changes.

Her style is direct and strengths-focused. She listens for what is already working in a person's life and helps expand those skills. Sessions may include setting concrete goals, testing new behaviors between meetings, and reflecting on what changes help most.

Maria also uses motivational interviewing to support commitment to change when people feel stuck. That approach helps clarify values and next steps without pressure. She frames progress as steady practice rather than instant results.

Practical approaches used in online sessions