Monica Cesar McGraw
Practical, compassionate therapy for everyday challenges
LICSW Massachusetts
- Experience
- 6 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Grief
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
About Monica
Monica Cesar McGraw is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) based in Massachusetts who uses practical, skills-based approaches to help people manage stress, anxiety, mood concerns, and the fallout from trauma and loss.
Background and approach
With six years of clinical experience, she draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy alongside other evidence-informed methods to help clients build coping strategies, strengthen motivation and self-esteem, and navigate life transitions. She emphasizes a respectful, compassionate stance and adapts conversations and care plans to suit each person's needs.
Monica works with a broad range of concerns including grief, relationship and family problems, anger, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and issues related to aging, caregiving, and end-of-life matters. Her practice also addresses obsessions and compulsions, panic and phobias, postpartum and post-traumatic stress concerns.
Fluent in Portuguese as well as English, Monica aims to create a collaborative space where taking the first step toward change is met with encouragement and practical support. She frames progress as a process and partners with clients to identify goals and the strategies that make sense for their lives.
Online approaches rooted in practical skills and mindfulness
Monica commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and practice concrete strategies for changing behaviors and moods. This approach is well suited to anxiety, depression, panic, and many everyday stressors because it focuses on skills that can be applied between sessions.She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Mindfulness Therapy to teach distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and present-moment awareness. DBT-informed skills can be useful for managing intense emotions and interpersonal conflict, while mindfulness practices support grounding and stress reduction.
Deciding on an approach is collaborative - the therapist will work with each person to match methods to their goals, preferences, and circumstances, adjusting plans as progress unfolds. Clients can expect a team-like process where techniques are tried, refined, and integrated based on what helps.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care during life transitions, support practice of in-the-moment skills, and fit therapy into a busy routine while working with licensed professionals.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
6+ years
Licensed
Massachusetts
Languages
English, Portuguese