William Martinez, LCSW

Hi, I’m William

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California and Idaho, and I have been doing this work for more than 20 years. I see couples, individuals, families, children and teens, in English or Spanish. Most of my clients meet with me by secure video from home, and I also see clients in person at my office in San Fernando.

I did not start out as a therapist. I worked in finance first, then moved into social work and never looked back. My first job in the field was supporting families caring for a loved one with a developmental disability, and those families taught me how much people can carry and still keep going. I am also the father of two adopted children, which has shaped how I think about family, belonging and repair.

What I focus on

Couples work is at the heart of my practice. I use the Gottman Method, and I have completed all three levels of its training. It gives couples concrete ways to argue less destructively, repair faster and feel like a team again. I also draw on attachment theory, because the way we learned to connect as children often explains why the same fight keeps coming back. You can read more on my couples counseling page.

With individuals I use CBT and DBT to work on anxiety, depression, trauma and emotions that feel too big to manage. With families I use structural family therapy to change the patterns that keep everyone stuck.

Where I have worked

I have a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Security & Conflict Resolution from San Diego State University, and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Long Beach. My roles have included:

• Co-director of a foster care and adoption agency.
• Program manager for developmental disability services.
• DBT mental health therapist.
• Member of a multidisciplinary team at UCLA, working alongside psychiatrists and physicians.

Training and certifications

• Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Levels 1, 2 and 3.
• DBT Skills Training (Psychwire).
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy Comprehensive Foundational Training.
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), certified. A structured treatment for trauma in children and teens.
• LPS certification, authorizing psychiatric hospitalization under Los Angeles Department of Mental Health guidelines.

En español

Spanish was part of my degree and it is part of my daily work. Many of the couples and families I see are more comfortable in Spanish, or switch between both languages, and sessions can go whichever way feels natural to you.