Rebekah Machiela, MD, LCSW-C

Rebekah Machiela is a licensed therapist based in Maryland who helps people cope with stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, and major life changes. She also supports people facing relationship and intimacy challenges, parenting stress, and compassion fatigue. Rebekah brings 13 years of clinical experience to her work and blends practical approaches to fit each person’s needs.

Her style is warm and empathic. She listens first and treats each person as the expert on their own story. Sessions focus on clear goals, useful skills, and straightforward strategies that can be put into practice between meetings.

Rebekah uses a mix of methods including cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered techniques, narrative ideas, psychodynamic thinking, and solution-focused work. That lets her help people reframe unhelpful thoughts, strengthen communication, and build coping tools for everyday life.

She has substantial experience counseling in medical settings, which informs her work with chronic illness, caregiving stress, cancer, hospice and end-of-life concerns. Rebekah also supports those navigating postpartum adjustment, pregnancy and childbirth related stress, and the emotional impact of aging and caregiving roles.

People can expect clear conversation, practical coping strategies, and encouragement toward self-compassion. Rebekah emphasizes growth through reflection, improved communication skills, and small changes that add up over time.

Approaches you can try online

Rebekah commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and client-centered methods in her online work. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors so people can reduce anxiety, manage mood, and handle stress more effectively. Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening, empathy, and working at the client’s pace to build insight and self-compassion.

She may also bring narrative therapy ideas into sessions to help people reframe their life stories and spot patterns that no longer serve them. Together the therapist and client decide which approaches fit best, and she adjusts methods based on the person’s goals, preferences, and progress in therapy. This is a collaborative process rather than a one-size-fits-all plan.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat offers a shorter check-in option, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between meetings. These options help make therapy flexible and easier to fit into work, caregiving, and daily routines.