Mark Sikora, LICSW

Mark Sikora is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) in Washington with four decades of clinical experience. He helps people who are struggling with relationships, grief, anxiety, depression, addiction, and other life disruptions. He frames the work around clients' own goals and strengths, and he offers steady support while people take steps toward change.

Mark draws on practical methods that focus on thoughts, behavior, and values. He uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try new responses. He also integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify what matters most and build actions that match those values.

His background includes long-term work with trauma, bipolar disorder, and crisis response. That history informs how he notices shifts in mood and in coping. He pays attention to grief as a changing process and to how life events affect daily functioning.

Sessions are conversational and goal-focused. Mark encourages people to notice strengths, try experiments between sessions, and bring real-life struggles into the room. He aims for clear, practical steps rather than jargon.

People can expect a calm, steady presence and a partnership approach. He supports clients who want to address intimacy issues, parenting stress, ADHD-related concerns, career strain, and recovery from abuse or loss. To begin, visitors follow the site’s matching flow and schedule a time to meet.

How therapeutic approaches shape online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and then build small actions that align with those values. It is useful for anxiety, depression, grief, and motivation struggles. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and testing thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going, and it often includes simple practice tasks people do between sessions. Client-Centered Therapy centers on listening, empathy, and following the client’s pace to build trust and self-understanding.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and suggest methods that seem to fit. This is collaborative - plans change as needs and life circumstances change.

Confirm the current session options before booking, since specific formats are not listed here. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by reducing travel time and allowing shorter check-ins when needed. It can also help maintain continuity when schedules shift, and it lets people try techniques in the places where their day-to-day challenges happen.