About Howard
Howard Acosta is a licensed clinical social worker with 24 years of experience in California. He focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and addictions. He also supports those coping with grief, anger, low self-esteem, and major life changes.
He brings a direct and practical style to sessions. He uses straightforward tools from therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. He also draws on motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques to help people set goals and make changes.
How Howard works
Howard pays attention to each person's background and identity. He offers an affirming approach for LGBT concerns and works with people facing adoption and foster care issues, fatherhood questions, aging and geriatric matters, and veteran and armed forces issues. He also addresses co-morbidity, domestic violence, and substance use topics.
In sessions he focuses on clear steps people can take between meetings. That might include practicing new ways of thinking, building small habits, or using brief strategies to reduce symptoms. He aims to help people feel more in control and better able to handle everyday demands.
Howard accepts international clients and provides services in English. He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. To begin, a person completes a short matching questionnaire and schedules based on therapist availability.
Howard lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Howard works with
The areas below are the ones Howard selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Co-morbidity
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Men's issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 24 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that guide online sessions
Howard commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness therapy to address presenting problems. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can reduce anxiety, depression, and compulsive patterns. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to help with stress, emotional regulation, and staying present.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals and try techniques that fit the person's needs and preferences. Decisions about methods are made collaboratively and adjusted over time based on what proves helpful.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging make it possible to get support between longer sessions or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options help people fit therapy around work, caregiving, travel, and other daily demands.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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