Merry Walensa, LPCC

Merry Walensa is a California licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) with 17 years of experience. She focuses on practical concerns like grief, low self-esteem, anxiety, stress, career questions, and coping with big life changes. Her approach is straightforward and aimed at helping people find doable steps forward.

Merry blends cognitive behavioral ideas with acceptance and commitment principles and client-centered care. Sessions look at thoughts and behaviors that get in the way, while also clarifying values and what matters most. She uses simple tools to reduce overwhelm and build daily routines that work for each person.

She also draws on dialectical behavior skills and emotionally focused methods when relationships, intense emotions, or patterns of conflict are involved. That can mean learning new ways to talk, handle anger, or reconnect after loss. The focus stays on what helps someone feel more steady and capable day to day.

Merry aims to create an open, nonjudgmental space where thoughts and feelings can be shared honestly. She centers the conversation on the client’s goals and strengths. People who want a practical, compassionate guide through change often find this style useful.

New clients begin with a video session before other formats are offered. Merry asks that people respect scheduled times or cancel with advance notice when possible. She supports adults working through relationship issues, grief, chronic stress, addiction concerns, parenting strain, and questions about life purpose.

How evidence-based approaches translate to online care

CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety, improve mood, and address sleep or stress problems. It often involves practical exercises and short between-session tasks that fit well into online formats.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, known as ACT, helps people clarify their values and take committed action even when difficult feelings are present. It emphasizes notice and acceptance of inner experience while building a meaningful life, which can pair well with journaling or value-driven homework done between sessions.

Client-centered therapy centers the conversation on the person’s experience, using empathic listening and reflection to help people feel heard and discover their own solutions. This style supports working through grief, low self-worth, and life transitions at a pace the client sets.

Merry treats choosing an approach as a collaborative process. She will discuss goals, try methods that fit the person’s needs, and adjust the plan based on what helps most. This shared decision-making helps match techniques like CBT exercises or ACT values work to the individual’s preferences.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video works well for full sessions and exercises, phone can be a lower-bandwidth option, and chat or messaging are useful for quick check-ins or when a short reflection fits better into a busy day. These options help people fit therapy into work, caregiving, or other routines.