Tina LaPorta , LMFT

Tina LaPorta brings a breadth of experience working with adults and adolescents facing depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger, relationship and family challenges, substance use concerns, and career or adjustment issues. She has extensive clinical background in both community and higher education settings, and she has provided life coaching as part of therapeutic work. She also has specific experience counseling active duty service members and combat veterans.

Her academic training includes two master’s degrees in psychology - the first focused on college teaching and the second in counseling with a specialization in marriage and family therapy. She began her career as an adjunct professor of psychology in the San Francisco Bay Area, teaching for six years before moving into community-based clinical work with adults experiencing more severe and chronic symptoms, including schizophrenia.

Tina has worked in outpatient, intensive outpatient (IOP), and partial hospitalization programs treating both mental health and substance abuse disorders for adolescents and adults. She later joined the federal workforce, serving as a Psychologist at Fort Sam Houston in Texas and working for the Department of Defense on bases including Fort Sam Houston and Fort Bliss. As a Federal GS employee she transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs and served in Vet Centers as a licensed marriage and family therapist.

She is licensed in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, and Arizona and holds the credential LMFT - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She favors cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), focusing on identifying and changing thought and behavior patterns to help clients reach their therapy goals. Her approach aims to combine practical strategies with an understanding of relationship and family dynamics.

Approaches Used in Online Therapy with Tina LaPorta

Tina often works from a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) framework, which focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT is practical and skills-focused, and it is commonly used for anxiety, depression, stress, and many everyday coping challenges.

She also uses client-centered therapy, which emphasizes understanding the client’s perspective and building a collaborative, respectful therapeutic relationship. This approach helps when clients need a supportive space to explore feelings, values, and relationship dynamics.

Motivational interviewing is another tool she applies when clients are weighing change or struggling with substance use or ambivalence about goals. This approach draws out a person’s own motivations and supports step-by-step movement toward change.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy process. Tina works collaboratively with each person to tailor methods to their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting strategies as progress unfolds.

Online sessions are offered by licensed professionals and therapists through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which provides flexibility for scheduling, access from different locations, and continued support between in-person visits when needed.