Macarena Santelices, MD, LCPC, LPCC

Macarena Santelices is a licensed clinician with 14 years of professional experience. She holds an MD and is credentialed as an LCPC and LPCC. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, and self‑esteem struggles. She believes clients know their story best and brings a practical, down‑to‑earth approach. Sessions focus on clear goals and small steps. She helps people notice what isn’t working and practice different ways of coping. Her work often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy ideas, and mindfulness practices to build skills for managing emotions and behavior. These methods translate into concrete tools clients can try between sessions, such as thought records, behavioral experiments, breathing exercises, and grounding routines. Macarena supports people dealing with parenting stress, family conflict, caregiving burden, chronic illness or pain, and life transitions. She also addresses issues like abandonment, attachment concerns, body image, guilt, and isolation. Conversations tend to be direct and focused on practical changes. People who prefer step‑by‑step plans and skills practice usually find this style helpful. The therapist aims to meet each person where they are and tailor the work to individual goals. Signing up begins with a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a session.

How CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness translate to online therapy

Macarena uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions so people can try doable experiments and track what changes.

She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for emotional regulation and distress tolerance. DBT techniques teach practical ways to manage strong emotions, improve communication, and reduce impulsive reactions. Mindfulness practices are used to increase present‑moment awareness and reduce reactivity through simple breathing and attention exercises.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will talk with each client about goals, preferences, and what feels manageable. Together they choose or blend techniques and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text‑based messaging to suit different needs. Video works well for deeper conversation and exercises that use visual materials. Phone sessions can be useful for shorter check‑ins or when bandwidth is limited. Chat and messaging support brief check‑ins, skill reminders, and written practice between sessions. These options aim to make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.