About Mary
Mary Blankenburg is a licensed independent social worker (LISW) with 35 years of clinical experience. She focuses on building a strong therapeutic relationship and helps people talk through stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and ADHD. Her style is calm and straightforward, aimed at practical steps that fit everyday life.
Mary has worked in community mental health, adolescent services, and independent practice. She draws on decades of experience with individuals who face trauma, personality challenges, addictions, sleep problems, and career or relationship stress.
Background and approach
Her background gives her a broad view of how problems show up over time. In sessions she uses clear, evidence-informed methods such as cognitive behavioral approaches, acceptance and commitment ideas, and attachment-based thinking. She also incorporates client-centered principles that honor each person’s pace and priorities.
This means sessions often balance skill-building with exploring personal meaning and relationships. Mary pays attention to the body’s role in healing and sometimes uses simple movement or awareness practices alongside talk. She helps people notice nervous system cues and develop small, practical tools to reduce reactivity and improve daily functioning.
Her work often centers on increasing self-kindness and repairing the effects of past harm. Mary aims to help people regain a sense of control, improve communication, and move toward goals they care about. The approach is collaborative and steady, focusing on what is useful right now.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping people notice painful thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. It can help with anxiety, depression, and life changes by building willingness and clear goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and replace them with practical strategies. It is useful for worry, panic, sleep problems, and managing mood swings.
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns shape current connections and emotional responses. It can help people repair trust, improve communication, and reduce reactivity in close relationships.
Finding the right mix of methods is part of the work. Mary will collaborate with clients to choose approaches that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That process can change over time as progress is made and new priorities appear.
Online sessions can take place by video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different situations. Video is good for richer conversation and teaching skills. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or when clients prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging can support brief check-ins, homework, or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between appointments.
Questions people ask
What kinds of problems does Mary work with?
How would you describe her therapy style?
How much clinical experience does she have?
What are her credentials and location?
Which languages are supported and are international clients accepted?
What session formats are available?
How is cost handled for sessions?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 35 years
- Licensed
- Iowa
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.