Marcia Pontoni, LCSW

Marcia Pontoni is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in California with 25 years of experience. She offers warm, respectful care and focuses on helping people navigate relationship challenges, grief, anxiety, depression, and major life changes.

Her approach centers on adapting therapy to each person's needs. She uses client-centered techniques that keep the conversation focused on what matters most to the client. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness practices are part of her work to help people notice patterns and build practical skills for managing stress and mood.

Marcia supports people dealing with a wide range of concerns, including trauma and abuse, intimacy issues, addiction, compassion fatigue, and complex family dynamics. She also works with aging and geriatric issues, cancer-related distress, hospice and end-of-life concerns, and the difficult emotions that follow separation or infidelity.

Sessions are collaborative and paced to match what a person can handle. She listens for concrete problems and helps set small, achievable steps toward change. Treatment plans are adjusted over time based on progress and feedback.

People who meet with her can expect direct conversation, practical coping tools, and attention to emotional safety. She emphasizes respect and empathy while helping clients build clearer thinking, healthier habits, and a stronger sense of agency.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following the client's lead to identify what matters most. In an online session this means the therapist helps shape the conversation around the client's priorities and offers steady, respectful feedback.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and behaviors influence mood and stress, and then teaches concrete skills to change unhelpful patterns. Delivered remotely, CBT can include homework, thought records, and step-by-step behavioral experiments that are easy to review together on video or by phone.

Mindfulness Therapy brings attention to the present moment and helps reduce reactivity to strong emotions. Simple breathing, grounding exercises, and short awareness practices can be guided during a session and practiced between meetings.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what feels helpful, then try approaches that match those needs. Plans are reviewed and adjusted over time to find the best fit.

Her biography indicates she works best by video and telephone, so confirm the current session options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, offer quicker check-ins, and allow work on skills between meetings without travel time. These practical benefits help therapy become part of everyday routines while keeping focus on meaningful change.