Maria Garcia, LMHC - Online Therapist in Florida

Introduction

My name is Maria Paz Garcia, and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. I was born in Peru and moved to the United States when I was 17 years old. I’m a bilingual therapist who understands the challenges first generation immigrants had to overcome to adapt in a new country. I’m passionate, down-to-earth, approachable, straight-forward but most importantly understanding and caring. Not a fan of therapy-speak and I use a lot of analogies to get my point across.

I’m a big advocate for therapy. I consider it a great place to become aware of self-limiting beliefs that have dictated the way we have experienced life. Through our work in therapy, you’ll acquire the tools to unlearn old ways of thinking and be in charge of your own life. My approach to therapy is best described by Dr. Thema’s quote, “Pay attention to your patterns. The ways you learned to survive may not be the ways you want to continue to live. Heal and shift.”

Request An Appointment Call Us

954-378-5381
info@caringtherapistsofbroward.com

2000 Northwest 150th Avenue, 2109 & 2110, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
12008 South Shore Boulevard, Suite 210 & 211, Wellington, FL 33414
800 East Broward Blvd, Suite 310, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
420 S State Road 7, Suite 108, Wellington, FL 33414
2929 N. UNIVERSITY DRIVE, Suite 205, Coral Springs, FL 33065
2000 Northwest 150th Avenue, Suite 2109 and 2110, Davie, Florida 33328
5400 S University Dr, Unit 308, Davie, FL 33328

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Service Specialties

Childhood/Attachment Trauma
Women in Recovery
First Generation Latin immigrants and Family of Origin Dynamics
Building Healthy Relationships

Education

Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Florida International University
Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Barry University

Licenses

Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Therapeutic Approach

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)- certified
Brainspotting (BSP)
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Insurance

Cigna
Aetna
Optum- United Healthcare, UMR, Oscar, Avmed
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Humana
NOMI Health
Seminole Tribe

Location

Virtually throughout Florida

Contact

info@caringtherapistsofbroward.com

In our first few sessions, my goal is to get to know you—not just what’s been coming up lately, but also the patterns and experiences that may be shaping how you move through life. We’ll take time to explore how you tend to handle stress and uncertainty, and what has helped you cope in the past (even if some of those strategies don’t feel as helpful anymore).

From there, we’ll start working together to create healthier, more adaptive ways of responding to stress, healing from past experiences, and feeling more confident about how you’ll handle challenges in the future.

Most importantly, these early sessions are about building trust and creating a space where you can feel understood, supported, and not alone in the process.

Many clients tell me they appreciate that I don’t use “psychobabble” or overly clinical language to explain what they’re going through. I believe that your responses to stress or trauma are not signs that something is “wrong” with you, they’re natural human reactions to difficult experiences.

Unlike approaches that only focus on symptoms or teach you to simply “reframe your thoughts,” our work goes deeper. Together, we’ll look at the bigger picture: the patterns in your past, the ways you’re coping now, and how you want to face challenges in the future.

Often, the strategies that once helped you survive may no longer serve you in building a meaningful, fulfilling life. My role is to help you understand those patterns with compassion and then create new, more supportive ways of living that allow you to feel confident and resilient over the long term.

I became a therapist because I wanted to understand why people (myself included) do things that don’t always make sense to others. I love helping people learn not to take on everyone else’s struggles—and let’s be honest, I also wanted to see if I fit a diagnosis or two 😂.