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Meet Maria Acanda, MSW, LSW

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Maria Acanda, MSW, LSW

Maria Acanda, MSW, LSW

She/Her

Location: Lemont, Naperville, Telehealth

Relationship Issues, Stress Management, Trauma / PTSD

Maria Acanda’s path to becoming a therapist was inspired from her lived experiences and early professional career, which deepened her understanding of the impact of story telling and therapy intertwined. Maria, MSW, LSW, specializes in trauma/PTSD, stress management, and relationship issues. Offering therapy to couples, families, and individuals who identify as young adults, adults, and older adults, she supports clients who experience anxiety, depression, life changes/adjustments, and self-esteem/self-worth. She has her Bachelor of Art in Social Work with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies, and received her Masters in Social Work from University of Illinois.

In her sessions, Maria specializes in modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, Gottman, Mindfulness, and Strengths-Based. Additionally, she is certified in EMDR and Gottman Level 2, and uses Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help clients manage difficult emotions. Her approach to mindfulness utilizes self care exploration in session and practice to help clients develop healthy habits to support stress tolerance and allow them to increase body, mind, and thought connection to further process distressing memories through body awareness. Before working as a therapist for the past two years, Maria spent about five years in advocacy, case management, crisis intervention, and court diversion services with at-risk youth and their families, providing social service linkage to nurture resilience and pro-social skills.

“Therapy was a natural integration of my personal values and professional purpose,” Maria shares. She brings a non-judgemental curiosity and respect for clients’ experiences and remains a life-long learner to better serve clients as a professional. Preserving a safe and open environment, Maria provides integrative, client-centered care based in empathy, collaboration, and safety where clients can build adaptive coping strategies to increase regulation and resilience. Using a trauma-informed approach, she supports clients in addressing relationship stressors, navigating conflict, and strengthening connection through individual and interpersonal skill building for cohesion and stability. Maria helps clients in managing stress with resources to build confidence in themselves, work on thought and behavioral misalignment, and address deeper causes of distress in a semi-structured environment with patience, humor, and flexibility within their sessions.

When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and dog and enjoys hobbies like crafting, cooking, and hiking. If she was not a therapist, she would have been a lawyer or judge because justice is a deep core value of hers.

Get to
Know Maria Acanda, MSW, LSW

Locations
lemont
naperville
telehealth
Patient Types
Older Adult (65+)
Adult (22-64)
Young Adults (18-21)
Specializations
Anxiety
Depression
Life Changes / Adjustments
Relationship Issues
Self-Esteem / Self Worth
Stress Management
Trauma / PTSD
Session Type
Individual
Couples
Family
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