About Merry
Merry Walensa welcomes people who are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about what comes next. She helps with common life pressures like anxiety, stress, grief, career uncertainty, and low self-esteem. Merry explains things simply and aims to make the first steps less daunting for worried parents and busy adults.
With 17 years of experience in California, Merry uses a mix of practical methods. She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients notice unhelpful thoughts and choose values-based action.
Background and approach
She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify patterns that keep problems going, and Client-Centered Therapy to offer a respectful, nonjudgmental space. Merry also works from existential ideas, talking about meaning, purpose, and spiritual questions when those topics matter to a person. Sessions focus on clear, manageable steps people can try between meetings.
She encourages small changes that add up over time. She addresses a wide range of concerns including relationships, addictions, family problems, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, parenting stress, sleeping problems, anger, and compassion fatigue. Additional focuses include chronic illness, codependency, aging issues, divorce and separation, and hospice and end-of-life concerns.
New clients start with a video appointment before using phone or chat options. Merry emphasizes respectful scheduling and asks clients to give advance notice when they need to cancel. Her approach is collaborative, grounded, and practical.
How online approaches like ACT and CBT work in video therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings without being driven by them, then choose actions that match their values; it can be useful for anxiety, grief, and life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at patterns of thought and behavior that keep problems going and teaches practical strategies to change those patterns, which is helpful for stress, depression, and sleep issues. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and respect to help people feel heard and develop their own solutions.Figuring out the right approach is part of the process. Merry works collaboratively to match methods to a person's goals and preferences, trying approaches and adjusting as needed. The aim is to find tools that feel useful and realistic for daily life.
Online therapy with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text messaging offers flexibility for busy schedules and different needs. Video is helpful for face-to-face conversation and learning new skills, phone sessions can fit a quick check-in or lower bandwidth situations, and chat or messaging can support brief updates and moment-to-moment coaching. These options let people work on relationships, coping, grief, and life transitions without rearranging their whole day.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Parenting issues
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 17 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English