MAIDA FERRAES

Maida Ferraes is a California-based licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with seven years of hands-on counseling experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and parenting struggles, addiction, trauma, sleep problems, mood disorders, and concerns related to intellectual disability. Maida speaks English and Spanish and brings a calm, patient presence to sessions.

She has provided individual and group support in outpatient, residential, and office settings since 2017. That background means she is familiar with day-to-day challenges like insomnia, crisis adjustment, and caregiving strain. She also supports people dealing with LGBT issues, gender dysphoria, bipolar disorder, and compassion fatigue.

Maida blends practical techniques with a warm, collaborative style. She relies on client-centered methods and tools from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy to help people notice patterns and try new ways of coping. Motivational interviewing is part of how she helps people find their own reasons to change.

Sessions are focused on clear goals and small, doable steps. Maida emphasizes patience, steady support, and respectful listening while helping clients build skills for managing emotions and relationships. Parents and caregivers can expect direct guidance on communication and routines.

Her approach aims to help people feel steadier in daily life and better able to handle setbacks. For those wanting to begin, she asks people to consider what matters most to them and to bring that into the first meeting.

How client-centered and skills-based methods translate online

Client-centered therapy puts the person’s needs and goals first by using active listening and empathy to set the agenda together. This approach helps people feel heard and shapes what work comes next. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavior changes to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, or ease mood symptoms. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, and tolerating distress.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will ask about your goals, what has worked before, and what feels doable. Together you will try methods and adjust them over time so the plan fits your needs and preferences.

The original biography does not list which online or in-person formats are offered, so please confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so people can use free moments between commitments. Therapists can adapt CBT and DBT skill practice to a virtual setting, using shared planning, homework, and focused skill coaching to move toward concrete goals.