- CBT and DBT skills
- Mindfulness practices
- Trauma informed approach
About Marissa
Marissa Dean is an LMFT - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in California with five years of clinical experience. She works with adults carrying stress, anxiety, addiction concerns, relationship strain, grief, depression, and guilt and shame. She also supports people facing sleep problems, parenting pressures, and shifts in life direction.
Marissa takes a client-centered approach. Sessions focus on what the person brings in the room and on building practical skills for coping. She draws from cognitive behavioral techniques, DBT skills, mindfulness, and psychodynamic ideas to help people notice patterns and try different ways of responding.
Her background includes work with trauma and family of origin issues, attachment concerns, dissociation, and forgiveness work. She uses somatic awareness alongside talk therapy to help people recognize how stress shows up in their bodies and responses. That can make it easier to tackle guilt, shame, and longstanding self-criticism.
Marissa can include spiritual or Christian-based material when clients want that integrated into sessions. She will use prayer or scripture only at the client's request and only as part of the agreed plan. This is one part of a broader approach that keeps the client's values in view.
In sessions she blends short-term skill-building and deeper reflective work. The result is a practical focus on coping now, while also addressing the patterns that keep certain problems returning. People meet clear tools for day-to-day life and time to talk through harder, historical material.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the person's concerns and priorities. It involves listening closely and shaping sessions around what matters most right now, which helps when guilt or shame take up a lot of space. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) identifies unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and teaches practical skills to shift them; it is useful for anxiety, depression, and self-critical thought. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for emotional regulation and distress tolerance and can be helpful when intense feelings or urges make functioning hard.Finding the right mix of these approaches is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to decide which methods to emphasize, adjusting over time based on progress, goals, and personal preferences. That collaborative planning matters for addressing guilt, shame, trauma, or ongoing stress.
Session format details are not listed in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also makes it simpler to continue care when routines change. Ask about the available formats and how they fit into your day when you complete the matching questionnaire.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
5+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, addiction, relationship strain, grief, depression, sleep problems, parenting pressures, and guilt and shame among other issues.
How does she approach guilt and shame in sessions?
Her work combines client-centered conversation with CBT and DBT skills, plus somatic noticing to help people recognize thoughts, feelings, and bodily responses that keep guilt and shame active.
What experience does she have?
She has five years of clinical experience working with adults on trauma-related concerns, attachment issues, family of origin problems, and related mental health struggles.
What are her credentials and location?
She is an LMFT - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in California and practices there.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule your first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.