Maria Rheba EStante, LMFT, LPCC
Certified EMDR Therapist, trained in Brainspotting, Flash Technique, and CPT
Work
Maria Rheba (M.R.) Estante is a Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT). Her practice has a special concentration on PTSD, OCD, Neurodivergent issues, and supporting gifted learners. Other treatment areas of focus are pre-surgical bariatric assessments, maternal mental health and Gottman Method couples counseling for long distance unions.Her focus is on providing a client centered, compassion focused, and strengths-based multiculturally sensitive approach. She was drawn to the profession through the classic psychoanalytic writings of Adler, Bion, Jung, Reich, and more contemporary work from Dr. Nancy McWilliams. Her treatment philosophy is that every individual is unique and deserves a wholistic personalized and supportive experience in therapy.M.R. is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California (129514), Connecticut (3550), Hawaii (MFT-897-0) Massachusetts (5000358), Nevada (4796-R) and Virginia (0717002061). She is also an Out-of-State Telehealth Professional for Florida (TPMF 1011), South Carolina (TLC 1012 MFT), and Vermont (100.0134296TELE). In addition, M.R. is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in her home state of California (14937).Her background includes community mental health, mobile crisis, and substance abuse counseling. She has worked at Community Service Agencies contracted with County Public Health, a Veterans Service Organization, and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) at a Methadone Clinic. She also provides clinical peer consultations with fellow OCD therapists and serves as clinical supervisor to pre-licensed associates in California.Early in her career, she spent a decade in community mental health, starting with her traineeship at a County Outpatient Clinic that served a dual-diagnosis patient population. She completed graduate school while working the graveyard shift in a non-clinical role for a Veterans Service Organization. Upon graduation, M.R. began a nine-month post-masters clinical training internship in mobile crisis response, where she learned to conduct 5150 evaluations from experienced crisis clinicians in the field alongside local law enforcement.During the pandemic, she provided contracted clinical substance abuse counseling services and conducted mental health assessments required by the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System. In this role, she acted as a liaison between Federal Probation Officers and provided clinical services to formerly incarcerated pre-trial and post-conviction individuals.M.R. graduated from Golden Gate University with a Masters in Psychology. She is currently a candidate in the Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy (DMFT) program at National University in Southern California with concurrent studies in the Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles.
About
EMDR, Brainspotting, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Flash Technique for PTSD and C-PTSD. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD, and Habit Reversal Training (HRT) for Repetitive Body Focused Behaviors (Trichotillomania, Excoriation Disorder). She is a Certified Level One Solutions Focused Therapist, completed Level One Certification in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals (EFIT), Certified Grief Informed Professional (CGP), Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP) and Certified CBT Clinician (CBT-C).Clients often tell me my approach feels structured and pragmatic, direct in a way that helps them settle in and say things out loud in a judgement free space. I think that quality comes partly from growing up across worlds. Born in the South Pacific, raised in Western Canada’s country-western culture, later immersed in Toronto’s East Coast academic scene, exposed to the bilingual-multicultural Canadian zeitgeist before eventually landing in California. I learned early how to read between cultural lines and hold space for complexity. I see people as a tapestry because no one is a textbook case. We can experience the same events, be exposed to similar ideas, yet they can shape each person towards vastly different trajectories.I grew up in bilingual Canada with its official French and English media. Adore all things Polyglot. One of my long-term goals is to read Jung in his original German.Outside of work mode, you’ll find me in a Buddhist Zen Garden, learning Transcendental Meditation, being a history buff, catching up on the Discovery Channel, pet parenting, or unapologetically unwinding to old Law & Order episodes.My passion for psychoanalytic thinking took root at the University of Toronto, where I discovered an undergraduate program called Humanities and Psychoanalytic Thought. During that time, a fellow freshman offered advice that quietly redirected my entire path: “It’s a good idea to learn how to read people.” I’ve followed that thread today with ongoing training at the New Center for Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles.My approach is to work to bring together intellectual depth with practical, real-world tools. Keen on psychoeducation and skills building. I'm committed to providing resources and community support tools as adjunct therapeutic aids between sessions. I do not want someone to be dependent on therapy but to actually move forward.Modus Operendi: Always believed that when someone has genuine space to speak and feels truly heard, something internal begins to shift in ways that create real, lasting change.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 323-332-1655