Marla Gentile

Marla Gentile is a licensed professional counselor with four decades of experience helping people navigate hard life moments. She practices in California and works with adults facing stress, anxiety, trauma, grief, and career concerns. Marla emphasizes a respectful, person-focused approach and invites clients to use their own strengths in therapy.

Her work centers on listening first and building trust. She believes people are the experts on their lives and that therapy is a collaborative process. Sessions often focus on making sense of painful experiences and finding practical ways to cope day to day.

Marla draws on several approaches to meet different needs. She uses attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. She uses mindfulness practices to help people feel steadier in the moment. She also incorporates EMDR tools when trauma memories are part of the problem.

Over her career she has supported people dealing with compassion fatigue, caregiving stress, relationship and intimacy concerns, and life transitions such as divorce or loss. She also helps clients with issues like shame, codependency, and questions about life purpose.

People who prefer a calm, steady listener and practical coping tools often find her style a good match. The first step is a short matching questionnaire to connect goals with the session plan and schedule that follows.

Approach options and how they work online

Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and emotional responses. Online sessions using this approach often focus on understanding connection styles and practicing new ways of relating to others. Client-centered therapy centers the person’s experience and priorities; sessions emphasize listening, validation, and building the strategies a client finds most useful. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a trauma-focused method that helps people process distressing memories and reduce their emotional charge when those memories come up.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels manageable. Together they will try methods that match the client’s needs and adjust as the work progresses.

The biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm current session options before booking. Many people find online therapy helpful for fitting sessions into a busy life, shortening commute time, and maintaining continuity during transitions. It can also make it easier to schedule a brief check-in or a longer session depending on what the day allows. Licensed professionals aim to match practical scheduling with the therapeutic approach to keep progress moving forward.