Mary Cowen

Mary Cowen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 26 years of experience. She practiced in Texas and Oklahoma before moving her work to North Carolina. Mary has supported people through grief, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, addictions, and serious medical concerns such as cancer.

Her background includes community mental health, in-home care, schools, inpatient mental health, hospitals, and hospice. She has provided individual counseling, couples work, family sessions, and group therapy across those settings. That variety shaped a flexible approach to care.

Mary keeps a warm, interactive style in sessions. She treats people with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. Sessions are adapted to each person's needs rather than sticking to one fixed method.

Clinically she uses client-centered work, cognitive behavioral techniques, dialectical behavior strategies, Imago relationship ideas, and mindfulness. She also draws on motivational interviewing, narrative work, and solution-focused ideas when helpful.

Mary helps people facing life transitions, career stress, parenting strain, eating and body-image concerns, trauma, and long-term illness or caregiving burdens. Her goal is to support people as they set realistic steps toward change and greater well-being.

To get started she asks people to reflect on what matters to them and what they hope to change. Mary aims to be a steady, practical partner while clients build new skills and find clearer direction.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Mary uses client-centered work, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in ways that translate well to online settings. Client-centered Therapy focuses on listening and helping the person set their own goals, which helps people feel heard and understood. CBT breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills for shifting patterns that cause distress. DBT emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills, which can be useful for managing strong emotions and relationship challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Mary will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and preferences. She checks in and adjusts the plan as progress is made.

The original biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Many people find online work helpful because it can fit around work and family schedules, reduce travel time, and make shorter check-ins easier to arrange. Online sessions can also make it simpler to practice homework between meetings and bring real-life situations into conversation for immediate problem-solving.