Mari Novoa

About Mari

Mari Novoa is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT #135518). She specializes in life transitions, career burnout, workplace stress, and self-worth, with a passion for supporting working professionals, mothers, and individuals from bicultural backgrounds. Mari offers therapy in both English and Spanish and uses strengths-based, culturally responsive frameworks alongside Clifton Strengths strategies to empower clients. Drawing on over a decade of experience in corporate HR and employee advocacy, she helps clients navigate the deep connections between work, identity, and mental health to move beyond surviving and truly thrive.​

Specialties & Populations Served

• Career burnout & workplace stress

• Life transitions & personal growth

• Support for loved ones of the incarcerated

• Self-worth & identity development

• Clifton Strengths guided sessions

• Bilingual therapy (English/Spanish)

• Bicultural & Latinx communities

• Intergenerational dynamic & family stress

• Working professionals & corporate leaders

• Mothers & parents balancing career and home

Therapy Approaches

• Strengths-Based Practice

• CliftonStrengths Assessment & Guidance

• Culturally Responsive Therapy

• Solution-Focused Therapy

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT (thoughts, feelings, and behavior)

• Mindfulness (present-moment awareness)

• Socratic Method (guided questioning)

My Approach

I believe the foundation of good therapy is a strong, trusting relationship, so I spend real time building that connection with each client. Working closely with people for years, supporting them through workplace stress, conflict, and major transitions, is what drew me to pursue therapy as a second career. That experience taught me how much people carry silently, and how rarely they have a safe place to put it down. I often start with a Socratic style, asking questions that help you find your own insight and clarity. If we get to a point where that isn't landing, I'll step in and offer information, guidance, or a different perspective, so you're never left stuck without support. I draw on CBT, mindfulness, Solution-Focused Therapy when appropriate, a strengths and values based approach, and Culturally Responsive Therapy, so your background and identity are part of how we work together. I move at your pace. When you need space to sit with grief, sadness, or overwhelm, we stay there as long as it takes. When you're ready to set goals and take action, I roll up my sleeves and get into the practical work with you.

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My Client focus

I specialize in working with career changers, working professionals, and corporate leaders navigating burnout, workplace stress, and major life transitions. Many of the people I work with carry a lot of responsibility and never feel like they have room to fall apart. They hold it together for their teams, their families, everyone around them, and the only place they let themselves feel it is in their car or alone in the bathroom for a few minutes. I help clients slow down enough to feel what they've been holding, get comfortable with vulnerability, and learn that asking for help is not a weakness. As part of this work, I offer CliftonStrengths guided sessions, using your top strengths as a practical tool to build confidence, clarify direction, and apply what's already working in you to the areas where you feel stuck. I also support loved ones of the incarcerated, an experience I understand both personally and professionally, and I hold that work with particular care. Alongside this, I work with adults navigating grief and general life changes.

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My Communication Style

I'm empathetic, compassionate, and easy to talk to. Clients tell me they feel trusted and understood in our work together. I listen closely, ask thoughtful questions, and check in on what's working so our sessions stay useful and comfortable for you. I don't always get it right, and I encourage you to push back on anything I say that doesn't sit well with you. Speaking up is part of the process, especially for anyone who tends to lean toward people pleasing. I offer therapy in English, Spanish, or a blend of both, whatever feels most natural to you.

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How I Help Clients Reach Goals

Once we've built trust and a clear picture of what you're navigating, we set goals together at a pace that fits you. I don't rush the process. Some sessions are about holding space and processing. Others are about building a concrete plan and taking next steps. Sometimes we focus on something that happened recently, and other times we focus on your long term goals. I stay flexible and adjust as your needs change, and I check in regularly on progress so the work stays aligned with what matters most to you.

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My Journey To Becoming a Provider

Before I became a therapist, I built a career in Human Resources, where I spent years supporting people through workplace stress, conflict, transitions, and difficult conversations. I also worked closely with employee benefits and wellbeing, educating employees on their benefits and Employee Assistance Program, and leading initiatives like Wellness Wednesdays that introduced holistic practices and helped employees see why their wellbeing matters, not just at work, but in their lives overall. That work, along with experiences closer to home, taught me how much people carry silently, and it planted the seed for this second career. Becoming a therapist let me go deeper into that same work, this time with the tools to help people heal, not just cope.

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My First Session With Clients

I start by introducing myself and explaining my approach to therapy. Then we go over your intake together, so I can understand what brought you in and what you're hoping for. The rest of the session is a mix of practical details and getting to know each other. Therapy takes time, and this first meeting is just the beginning of that.

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Supervised by Saul Salmeron LMFT#129462