Marikay Vander Ven , LPCC

Marikay Vander Ven is an Ohio-licensed professional counselor (LPCC) with 21 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, and relationship or family concerns. Marikay aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where clients can talk honestly about what is troubling them.

She uses practical conversations to help people sort through feelings and make clearer choices. Sessions tend to be straightforward and focused on immediate concerns, whether that means managing day-to-day stress or working through the fallout from difficult events. She often helps clients identify patterns in relationships and communication that contribute to ongoing strain.

Marikay also addresses related issues such as abandonment, attachment wounds, body image struggles, caregiver stress, chronic illness or pain, and challenges with control or impulsivity. She brings two decades of experience to these topics and draws on approaches that are evidence based to guide treatment decisions.

In sessions she works collaboratively, helping people set realistic steps and checking in on how strategies are working. Her aim is steady progress rather than quick fixes, and she supports clients as they try new ways of coping.

Marikay provides services in English and offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. To begin, a person completes a short matching questionnaire and schedules according to therapist availability.

Approaches that guide online sessions

Marikay uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on practical change and emotional understanding. One common approach she relies on involves helping clients identify unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, then testing small, manageable changes to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms. This method is useful for stress, anxiety, and low mood.

She also works with attachment and relationship patterns, helping people recognize how past experiences shape current interactions. In sessions she helps clients practice clearer communication and set boundaries, which can ease family and relationship strain.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. Marikay collaborates with each person to identify goals and preferences, then adapts methods as therapy progresses. She checks in regularly to see what is helping and what needs to change so the plan fits each person's life.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people see facial cues and hold deeper conversations, while phone can fit a shorter check-in or lower bandwidth situations. Live chat or text messaging can be useful between sessions for brief updates or when writing feels easier. These options make it simpler to schedule work around life obligations and keep momentum between meetings.