Maria Clara Salazar-Pretto , LCSW

Maria Clara Salazar-Pretto is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than 20 years of experience helping people navigate life transitions, relationship challenges, grief, trauma, and everyday stressors. She blends clinical training with practical, hands-on methods to help individuals move toward greater well-being and functioning.

She earned her master of social work from California State University, Fresno in 1993 and completed an undergraduate major in clinical psychology. Her professional background includes work in hospitals, health centers, and private agencies, supporting clients from young adulthood through later life stages. Raised within both Colombian and U.S. cultures, she provides care in English and Spanish and draws on bicultural insight to connect with people from diverse backgrounds.

Her therapeutic approach is client-centered and goal-oriented, informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Systems Theory, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and a humanistic framework. These methods emphasize practical skills - identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, building coping strategies, and creating concrete steps toward meaningful change. In sessions she emphasizes validation, empathy, active listening, and reflective feedback within a nonjudgmental setting.

Maria Clara invites clients to take the first step toward support and views the therapeutic process as a collaborative path toward becoming a stronger, more grounded version of oneself.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Maria Clara Salazar-Pretto utilizes client-centered therapy to place the individual's needs and values at the center of treatment, creating space for empathy, active listening, and collaboration so clients shape their goals and pace of work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used to help identify patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to distress and to teach practical coping strategies that reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning. Solution-Focused Therapy concentrates on building on strengths and setting clear, achievable goals so clients can take concrete steps toward change.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Maria Clara works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit best based on their needs, goals, and preferences. This flexibility allows treatment to evolve as progress is made and priorities shift.

Online therapy with Maria Clara can take place by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for busy schedules, caregiving responsibilities, or long-distance arrangements. These options make it easier to access licensed professionals and maintain continuity of care, while allowing therapy to fit more naturally into everyday life.