Laura Contreras, LMFT

Laura Contreras is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) based in Wisconsin. She brings a practical, down-to-earth style to sessions and focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting challenges, and changes that come with life transitions.

She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and attachment-based ideas to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. Sessions often involve setting small, doable goals and practicing new skills between meetings.

Her background includes five years working as an LMFT in Wisconsin. That experience includes supporting people through grief, trauma and abuse, intimacy issues, depression, and panic attacks. She also works with concerns around career, self-esteem, body image, and feelings of isolation or loneliness.

In sessions she leans on client-centered listening and practical tools from the Gottman method for relationship concerns. Therapy usually blends talking with specific exercises that target patterns in thoughts, emotions, and actions. The aim is steady progress rather than instant fixes.

Laura frames therapy as a collaborative process. She helps people clarify what matters most, test changes in daily life, and build coping strategies that fit their routines. Communication is direct and compassionate, with an emphasis on realistic steps forward.

Online approaches that blend skill-building and connection

Laura often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify and change thought and behavior patterns that fuel anxiety or low mood. CBT focuses on practical steps like testing beliefs and practicing new behaviors, which can help with panic attacks, social anxiety, and depression.

She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients live by their values even when hard feelings are present. ACT encourages noticing thoughts without getting stuck in them and taking value-driven action. Attachment-Based Therapy is used when relationship patterns and emotional bonds are central concerns, helping people understand how early connections affect present relationships.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist works with each person to match techniques to their goals and comfort level, and adjustments are made as progress is tracked. Clients help set priorities and try methods in a way that fits their life.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexible access. Video is useful for in-depth work and reading nonverbal cues, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat suits brief check-ins or practicing skills between sessions. These options let people fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy schedules while still doing meaningful clinical work.