Monica Cesar McGraw, LICSW

Monica Cesar McGraw uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a guiding approach to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and related concerns. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, LICSW, practicing in Massachusetts. Monica writes simply and listens closely to understand what feels most pressing in each person's life.

Her sessions focus on practical steps that people can use between meetings. She often works on skills to reduce overwhelming thoughts, improve mood, and handle strong emotions. Monica also addresses issues tied to trauma, grief, self-esteem, motivation, and ADHD-related challenges.

Monica draws on dialectical behavior skills and mindfulness to help clients notice patterns and build new routines. She uses motivational interviewing and narrative techniques to clarify values and reshape difficult stories people tell about themselves. These methods are used together with CBT strategies to make change feel doable.

She has six years of professional experience and tailors conversations and plans to each person’s needs. Monica is bilingual and provides services in English and Portuguese for people in Massachusetts.

People meet her for help with relationship strain, family problems, caregiver stress, bereavement, and life transitions. She aims to create a respectful, compassionate space where practical tools meet honest conversation.

CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness in Online Care

Monica uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thought patterns and test new ways of thinking and acting. CBT helps with anxiety, depression, panic, obsessions, and many everyday stressors by teaching clear strategies to change reactions and behaviors.

She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Those skills are useful when strong feelings or conflict interfere with daily life. Mindfulness therapy is used to help people notice thoughts and bodily sensations without getting swept up in them, which supports recovery from trauma, grief, and persistent worry.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Monica will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and how symptoms show up day to day. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Online therapy offers several ways to meet depending on what fits into a person's routine. Video calls work well for deeper conversations and skill coaching, phone sessions suit a shorter check-in or lower bandwidth, and live chat or text-based messaging can provide brief support or help keep momentum between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or other daily demands.