Vanessa Martz , LPC

Vanessa Martz brings a lifetime of varied personal and professional experience to her counseling work. She carries a motherly way about her - a quality clients have noted - and draws on a career that spans science, military service, and higher education. A veteran herself, she is also the widowed spouse of a veteran, the mother of a disabled veteran, and the daughter of a World War II veteran who lived with PTSD. She is a mother by birth and adoption to five children and has fostered 26 children over 33 years. As a Christian and a licensed pastor, she also provides pastoral services.

Having lived through violence and loss, she offers deep empathy and has engaged extensively in grief work both personally and with others. She has remarried and navigated blended family challenges, experiences that inform her understanding of family dynamics and relationships. She is willing to explore spiritual beliefs in therapy and may challenge a client’s spirituality as part of the process - clients who prefer not to examine spiritual beliefs may find a different therapist to be a better match.

Professionally she is an LPC, which stands for Licensed Professional Counselor, and uses a blend of therapeutic methods. She frequently integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Grief Resolution Therapy while remaining flexible to expand techniques to meet each person’s needs. Her aim is not to force change but to enable clients to feel at peace with the choices they make and to help them embrace the joy of living.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Support

Vanessa Martz commonly draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotionally-Focused and Client-Centered approaches in her work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, and is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and many daily challenges. Emotionally-Focused Therapy emphasizes understanding and reshaping emotional responses within relationships, making it a strong fit for couples, attachment issues, and family concerns. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on creating a respectful, nonjudgmental space where the client’s goals guide the work, supporting personal growth and self-esteem.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process, and Vanessa works collaboratively with clients to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. She adapts techniques over time to reflect what proves most helpful.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions may be scheduled as video calls, phone conversations, live chat, or text-based messaging - allowing people to access licensed professionals and therapists from home or elsewhere. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to maintain continuity of care when schedules or locations change.