- Attachment-focused
- Bilingual therapist
- Family and parenting
About Margarita
Margarita Araiza-Johnston is a licensed clinical social worker based in New Mexico. She brings ten years of practice to sessions and speaks both English and Spanish. She offers straightforward, compassionate support for people facing family and parenting stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship concerns.
She trained in social work at Tulane University after earlier studies in sociology, anthropology, and French. Her background includes hospice social work and roles as a suicide and crisis counselor. That hands-on experience shaped her approach to crisis situations and end-of-life concerns.
Margarita uses practical therapies to help people make changes that matter to them. She draws on attachment-based methods to look at how early relationships affect current patterns. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors.
She also works with emotionally-focused ideas to improve how people communicate in close relationships. Motivational interviewing and narrative therapy are part of her toolbox for supporting change and helping clients tell their stories differently.
Her practice includes work on family problems, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, ADHD, sexual and intimacy issues, and coping with natural or human-caused disaster. She also has experience with domestic violence, fertility stress, and aging concerns. Margarita combines direct clinical skills with mediation training to help people navigate hard conversations.
To begin, a person selects the Start Therapy button, completes a short matching questionnaire, and schedules according to the therapist's availability. Fees vary with location and the service uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How these approaches work in online therapy
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current patterns. It helps people notice attachment needs and try new ways of relating in close relationships. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, focuses on spotting unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety or depression symptoms. Emotionally-Focused Therapy concentrates on emotions in relationships and helps people express needs and respond differently to one another.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with the client to choose methods that match goals, preferences, and the issues at hand. Sessions may draw from more than one approach as the work evolves and progress is reviewed together.
Confirm the available session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific online or in-person options. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It can also help when quieter surroundings or less bandwidth are preferable. Licensed professionals adapt these methods to work well across different session setups and help clients apply new skills in everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
10+ years
Credentials
New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Arkansas, California
Languages
English, Spanish
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She helps people with family and parenting stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, and coping with life changes including coping with natural or human-caused disaster.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is practical and collaborative, using approaches such as attachment-based work, cognitive behavioral techniques, emotionally-focused ideas, motivational interviewing, and narrative therapy.
What is her professional background?
She has ten years of experience, with past roles in hospice care and as a suicide and crisis counselor, and additional training in mediation and family law mediation.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with licensure in Hawaii and California and currently practices in New Mexico.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
What session formats are offered?
Please confirm current session format options before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.