I’m Marlena Stanford, a mental health therapist licensed in Arizona. I help individuals and families overcome mental health challenges and create lives of resilience and meaning.

I’m currently accepting new clients at the group practice where I work, The Integrative Counseling Center. Request an appointment here.

Are you "stuck" in mental, emotional, or behavioral patterns that have become unworkable? You can get back to living your best life, however you define it.

Maybe you’ve been carrying too much for too long—doing your best to survive panic, depression, mood swings, or relationship pain while feeling like you’re barely holding it together. And still, somewhere inside, a part of you knows it doesn’t have to be this way.

Therapy offers space. Space to think more clearly, feel more freely, and begin making choices that move you toward the life you want rather than the life you’ve been managing. This isn’t about powering through or pushing yourself to face everything all at once. It’s about learning how to shift your relationship with struggle so that it stops taking up all the air in the room.

That’s where I come in. I use evidence-based approaches to help people get unstuck from even the stickiest mental health problems and relationship challenges. Our work will be shaped by your goals and a pace that’s right for you. Together, we’ll explore what’s been getting in the way and begin to rewrite the path forward.

This is a collaborative process. Some days it’s skill-building; some days it’s storytelling. Some days it’s the kind of clarity that changes everything. Wherever we start, we’ll stay focused on what matters most: helping you live with more meaning, more steadiness, and more of yourself in the room.

My populations and areas of focus:

Tweens and Teens, 10-17

Adults, 18-65

Older Adults, 65+

Couples + Families

Performance &

Social Anxiety

Depression & Bipolar

Disorders

High Conflict Couples

Panic Disorder

& OCD

Image created with Magic Studio’s AI Art Generator

“It all starts with self-reflection. And then you have to be brave.”
— Glenn Close

About Me

My Approach

Therapy, at its best, is a practice and a relationship. My practice draws from research-backed interventions including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), solution-focused strategies, and exposure-based treatments for anxiety and OCD—but “evidence-based” alone isn’t enough. Healing happens in the space between us: in our shared effort and willingness to be in the same room together in order to understand what’s hard and do something new with it.

I approach this work with curiosity and openness. I regularly reflect on your progress and my own blind spots so that we can make adjustments. I do my best to stay attuned to what you need most—whether that’s structure, softness, a challenge, or simply someone who’s fully present.

Many of my clients notice meaningful shifts within 10–15 sessions. While I offer therapy that is generally short- to medium-term, the timeline is yours to define. Some people come in ready to get to work on something specific. Others need time and space to unpack what’s been buried. Either way, we’ll move at a pace that is manageable to you and aligned with your goals.

I strive to go beyond helpful conversation and work to create experiential moments during session. The outcome of a productive session is a small but powerful turning point that ripples out into your life outside of session. These are the moments that help you begin living differently.

My Background

Becoming a psychotherapist has been a natural progression of both my professional and personal journey.

Professionally, I spent over ten years as a tenured community college professor teaching writing, literature, and cultural studies. While it was a productive and meaningful career, I realized over time I was called to do something different. In 2022, I took a leap and pursued a graduate degree in mental health social work. My years in academia prepared me well for the intellectual rigor of psychotherapy, emphasizing the importance of using quality research to guide my practice.

Personally, I began having panic attacks and symptoms of OCD in childhood, though I did not understand myself as a person with OCD until my late 30s despite having received therapy services from a variety of providers. My personal experience with a stubborn mental health challenge and misdiagnoses has informed my clinical work. I take great care in conducting comprehensive assessments of my clients’ histories, symptoms, and current life contexts to get a good picture of their mental health concerns and develop treatment plans that actually work. I also see the value in striving for early intervention whenever possible, as well as starting therapy services earlier in life in order to gain insight and skills that will be useful throughout the lifespan.

My Training

  • Master of Social Work with Mental Health emphasis, The Ohio State University

  • Formal training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), ACT for OCD, and ACT for procrastination

  • Formal training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and CBT for OCD in children and adolescents

  • Formal training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Solution-focused Therapy

  • Formal training in Adlerian Play Therapy (beginning level) and play therapy for divorcing families

  • Formal training in Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD (CPT) (introductory level)

  • Formal training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) (introductory level)

  • Trauma- and shame-informed

To maintain high quality care, I receive weekly supervision and oversight from my supervisor, Daniel Levi, LPC, who is the owner of The Integrative Counseling Center.

Me, Personally

When I’m not doing therapy, I spend most of my time hanging out with my three sons and husband. I like getting alone time when I can, usually browsing at bookstores or the library or getting my heart rate up by hiking uphill or jogging. My personal goal is to use each day to create a life worth living—for me that means a life of balance, authenticity, and gusto—so that I can help my clients do the same.

Ready to work with me? Request an appointment at The Integrative Counseling Center’s booking site.