Makayla Martin

Makayla Martin is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LISW-CP) who focuses on helping people who feel stuck, lonely, or overwhelmed. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, anger, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. Her manner is warm and straightforward, aimed at making conversations easy to start and follow.

She uses a mix of proven techniques to address past hurt and present struggle. That includes approaches such as Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, compassion-focused work, Cognitive-Behavioral methods, trauma-focused approaches, and mindfulness-based cognitive techniques. Sessions focus on practical steps you can try between meetings as well as listening and making sense of what happened.

Makayla has five years of clinical experience and has worked with people from a range of backgrounds, including veterans and those facing workplace or money concerns. She pays attention to attachment and communication problems, guilt and shame, and issues common in young adulthood. Isolation and loneliness are specifically mentioned as an area she helps people understand and move through.

Her style is collaborative and paced to the person in front of her. She aims to help people recognize patterns, build coping tools, and strengthen self-compassion. Progress is practical and often gradual, with small changes adding up over time.

Makayla practices in Virginia and conducts work in English. If you want to explore whether her approach fits your situation, follow the site’s matching flow to see how to proceed.

How evidence-based methods translate to online care

Makayla draws on a few well-known, evidence-based techniques to guide sessions in simple, practical ways. Cognitive Processing Therapy focuses on making sense of difficult memories and reducing their hold on day-to-day life, which can help when past events fuel current anxiety or low mood. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy emphasizes noticing thoughts and values, then taking actions that fit what matters most, which can help with feeling stuck or unsure about life purpose. Mindfulness-based cognitive approaches teach simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and calm the mind.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will listen to your goals and try methods that suit your needs, adjusting as you go. That means pairing practical skills with conversation and deciding collaboratively which strategies feel most helpful.

If you are considering online therapy, please confirm the available session formats before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when helpful. Some people prefer video for face-to-face feel, while others like audio for lower bandwidth or to avoid being on camera; discuss preferences during the matching and scheduling steps so sessions work with your everyday routine.