Mary is an independently licensed clinical social worker.  Her approach to therapy is guided by the principles of the social work profession including empathy, unconditional positive regard (all people have strengths and inherent worth), self-efficacy (people can make their own decisions), and self-determination (people have what it takes to do what’s best for them). 

 

Her goal is to provide the therapy interventions that best fit you.  If she is not competent in an intervention that may work best for you, or if her personality style doesn’t fit yours, then she will work with you to find a therapist who is a better fit.

Mary works with children (ages 5+) and adults.  When working with adults, Mary draws on CBT (the relationship between thoughts and feelings and how changes in thoughts impact mood); Motivational Interviewing (strengthening motivation to make the changes you want to make); trauma informed therapy to help heal from trauma and abuse; and person-centered therapies (uncovering and highlighting your strengths and using your strengths to help navigate life’s lemons).
 

When working with children, Mary draws on play therapy techniques (using children’s language of play to increase their awareness of their own competencies); CBT (relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviors to help with emotion regulation and decision making); and PCIT techniques (helping parents navigate interactions with their children to strengthen the parent-child relationship). 

 

When Mary works with children, she also works with the child's parents. Working with parents can focus on a number of things including parenting skills, helping parents help their children manage mental health, and improving the parent-child relationship.

Trying therapy and meeting someone new can be scary.  You can expect to be treated with kindness and empathy and your struggles to be viewed with respect and care. You can also expect a corny joke or two- Mary likes to laugh.