Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
How Monica works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Louisiana
- Years in practice
- 16
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Monica
Monica Cruz is a licensed clinical social worker with 16 years of practice in Louisiana. She focuses on practical steps that help people feel steadier and handle life’s hard moments. Monica listens without judgment and works with each person to set realistic goals they can actually try between sessions.
Her approach is straightforward and solution-oriented. Monica uses techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors.
Background and approach
She also draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how past relationships shape current patterns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy tools are part of her toolkit for managing strong emotions and improving day-to-day coping. Monica has worked with people facing anxiety, depression, bipolar mood changes, trauma and abuse, and addictions.
She also supports those struggling with anger, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, body image and eating concerns, sleep problems, and career stress. Additional focuses include ADHD, attachment and abandonment issues, blended family challenges, and kink-friendly sex culture concerns. In sessions she helps people break goals into small steps.
She emphasizes skills people can practice between meetings, like emotion regulation, communication techniques, and changes to routine. Monica partners with clients to measure progress and adjust goals as life changes. To begin, she asks a few questions to understand the situation and then co-designs a plan that fits the person’s schedule and needs.
Her style is empathetic, practical, and steady, aimed at helping people move forward one step at a time.
What Monica works with
Everything Monica lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Monica's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Monica lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Gottman Method
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approaches that translate to online work
Monica blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy in ways that adapt well to remote sessions. CBT helps people identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which translates into concrete homework and skills to practice between sessions. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships shape current patterns, useful for talking through long-standing relationship concerns and building different ways of relating. Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills that can be practiced live and reviewed together during video or phone sessions.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Monica will listen to your goals and preferences, try strategies, and adjust the plan based on what works. Together you’ll decide which mix of techniques best supports your priorities and day-to-day life.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video calls let you use visual cues for deeper conversation. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a headset is easier. Live chat and text-based messaging can support short check-ins, skill coaching, or when a quick update fits your schedule. These options make therapy easier to fit into work, parenting, or daily routines while keeping the focus on practical progress.
Questions people ask about Monica
What kinds of concerns does this therapist help with?
Monica works with stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar mood changes, trauma and abuse, addictions, anger, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, body image and eating concerns, sleep problems, and related life challenges.
What is her approach and style in therapy?
She takes a practical, problem-solving approach. Sessions combine talk with skills practice and step-by-step goal setting to build better day-to-day coping.
How much clinical experience does she bring?
She has 16 years of professional experience working with a diverse range of people and concerns.
What credentials and location should I know about?
She is an LCSW licensed in Louisiana and holds the credential LCSW.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English only.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Therapy is offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How are costs and getting started handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.