Merry Walensa

Merry Walensa is a California-licensed LPCC with 17 years of experience who helps people facing grief, life changes, and relationship struggles. She supports individuals working on self-esteem, career questions, anxiety, depression, and coping with chronic illness or caregiving stress. Her approach is grounded in practical support and calm guidance for people feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

Merry offers a welcoming space where clients can say what they really feel without judgment. She emphasizes courage and small, steady steps toward a more satisfying life. Her style blends practical tools with attention to personal values and meaning.

Her work includes grief and end-of-life concerns alongside issues such as addiction, isolation, and compassion fatigue. She also helps people address communication problems, commitment worries, and the fallout from separation or divorce. Clients bring both everyday stresses and deeper losses to the room.

Therapeutic methods Merry uses include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, and a client-centered, existential perspective that makes room for spirituality when it matters to the person. These approaches are woven together to match what each person needs.

New clients are asked to begin with a video appointment before other formats are used. Merry encourages timely scheduling and courteous cancellation notices to keep the process working well for everyone.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Merry uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Client-Centered Therapy in ways that fit everyday life. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying personal values and learning small actions that move a person toward those values while accepting difficult feelings. Client-Centered Therapy centers the person's own goals and pace, with the therapist offering empathy and reflection to help people feel heard.

Choosing the right approach is a team effort. Merry will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. She mixes methods when helpful and checks in regularly so the plan matches the client's needs.

Note that new clients must schedule a video appointment first, and the therapist's session formats should be confirmed when booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and make it simpler to meet from a quieter room or during a work break. Licensed professionals can still use the same practical skills and tools over video to address grief, anxiety, relationship concerns, and life transitions.