Therapist profile
Marisela Cuellar-VanHouten, LMSW
LMSW helping adults with parenting and mood concerns
Continue with MariselaAbout
- Trauma and abuse
- CBT and ACT methods
- Caregiver stress
About Marisela
Marisela Cuellar-VanHouten is an LMSW licensed in Michigan with 10 years of direct experience providing individual therapy. She helps people who are coping with trauma and abuse, parenting stresses, mood concerns such as bipolar disorder and depression, and the everyday pressures of anxiety, stress, and life changes.
She works plainly and directly in sessions. Conversations focus on what is going on now and what practical steps might help. She pays attention to how culture and identity affect someone’s struggles and is an LGBTQ+ ally.
Her approach draws from several therapies that teach new ways to handle thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Techniques include acceptance and commitment ideas, cognitive behavioral tools, and mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity and improve daily functioning. Dialectical behavior therapy skills are used for emotion regulation when needed.
Marisela also supports people dealing with grief, intimacy-related issues, sleep problems, anger, and low self-esteem. She works with clients facing caregiving stress, chronic illness or pain, and career or coaching concerns. She can talk through communication difficulties, commitment worries, and blending family challenges.
Sessions aim to be practical and focused. Goals are set together and progress is reviewed along the way. People who want clear strategies and thoughtful conversation about home, parenting, and personal stress may find this approach helpful.
How sessions work
How her approaches work in online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing difficult thoughts and feelings and then choosing actions that reflect personal values. It can be useful for people coping with ongoing stress, parenting demands, or chronic mood challenges. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at unhelpful thoughts and the behaviors that follow, and it gives concrete exercises to try between sessions to change patterns that worsen anxiety or depression. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and to help with sleep, anger, and emotional ups and downs.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and together decide which methods to use. That collaborative step helps tailor sessions to current needs and to what fits day-to-day life.
The original biography did not list specific online formats, so confirm session options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Many people find that video or phone options let them keep therapy going during parenting transitions, caregiving periods, or while juggling work shifts.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
10+ years
Listed in
Michigan
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with at home?
She works with adults on parenting stress, relationship strain, grief, mood concerns like depression and bipolar, anxiety, and trauma-related issues.
How would you describe her therapy style?
She uses a direct, practical style. Sessions focus on current concerns and on skills or steps to try between meetings.
How much experience does she have in individual therapy?
She has 10 years of experience providing individual therapy within a longer professional career.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds an LMSW and is licensed in Michigan.
Can she work with people who do not live in the US?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are offered?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Confirm current session options before booking.
How does the subscription payment work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start if I want to meet with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.