Mary Cowen , LCSW

Mary Cowen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 26 years of experience across several states. She now practices in North Carolina and works with adults facing a wide range of life challenges. Her manner is warm and interactive, and she aims to treat people with respect and compassion.

Mary draws on practical, skills-based methods to help people cope with anxiety, depression, grief, and stress. She also supports those managing mood conditions such as bipolar disorder, attention challenges like ADHD, and the emotional fallout from chronic illness or caregiving roles. She helps people address concerns about eating, body image, addiction, and relationship or intimacy struggles.

Her background includes work in community health, home health care, schools, inpatient mental health, hospitals, and hospice. That variety gives her a broad view of how life events affect daily functioning and relationships. She uses both individual and group formats in different settings.

In sessions she adapts techniques to fit each person's needs. Methods she commonly uses include client-centered work, cognitive behavioral tools, dialectical behavior skills, mindfulness practices, and relationship-focused pieces such as Imago ideas. Conversations focus on clear, doable steps and emotional understanding.

Mary is comfortable supporting people through major life changes like caregiving, adoption and foster care challenges, cancer, or bereavement. She also offers coaching-style help for career shifts and coping strategies for compassion fatigue and burnout.

How her approaches work online and in session

Client-centered therapy focuses on the person's own perspective and goals, with the therapist listening closely and reflecting back what matters most. It is useful for people needing a nonjudgmental space to sort feelings and choices.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps identify unhelpful thoughts and change behaviors that keep problems going. It is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and eating-related concerns because it produces concrete tools to try between sessions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches skills for managing intense emotions, improving tolerance for distress, and strengthening relationships. These skills can be helpful for mood instability, anger, and relationship conflict.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Mary will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That may mean trying CBT tools one week and mindfulness or DBT skills the next, and adjusting as progress is made.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging make it easier to check in between sessions, keep momentum, or fit short coaching-style conversations into a busy day.