About Gerardo
Gerardo Puga Cervantes is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in California who focuses on helping people handle stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, and relationship struggles. He aims to build a calm, respectful space so clients can talk about what matters most. Gerardo works in both English and Spanish and accepts international clients.
Gerardo centers sessions on the person in front of him, treating them as the expert on their life.
Background and approach
He uses clear, practical steps to address problems like low self-esteem, trauma and abuse, mood concerns, and compulsive behaviors. The goal is to find tools that fit each person’s daily life. Over a decade of clinical work informs his approach.
He blends several methods to make sense of complex issues such as attachment wounds, anger, codependency, and impulse control. This mix helps him tailor plans for people facing major life changes, career stress, or caregiving strain. In sessions, Gerardo focuses on building trust and usable skills.
He emphasizes simple strategies for managing intense feelings and improving communication. For people questioning sexuality or navigating kink and alternative sex culture, he offers a nonjudgmental space to talk candidly. Practical matters are part of the work too.
Gerardo offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules. He asks new clients to complete a short matching questionnaire to begin and then schedules sessions based on mutual availability.
How therapeutic approaches shape online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, often called ACT, focuses on helping people notice their thoughts and make room for valued action. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and life changes when someone wants clear steps to move toward what matters. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and teaches concrete strategies for changing them. CBT can help with panic, phobias, depression, and coping skills for daily life.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to choose methods that fit their goals, concerns, and comfort level. Techniques can be mixed and adjusted over time so the plan stays practical and relevant to real life.
Online sessions allow flexibility in how therapy happens. Video calls are similar to in-person meetings and work well for deeper conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging suit short check-ins, quick skill practice, or when a written record of ideas is helpful. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, caregiving, or travel schedules while keeping the focus on progress and usable tools.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Sex addiction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English, Spanish
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