Mary O'Dell , LICSW

Mary O'Dell is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people in Alabama navigate stress, anxiety, addiction concerns, and changes in life. She focuses on women's issues and on boost­ing self-esteem so clients can feel more confident in day-to-day life. Her tone is calm and practical, and sessions are centered on what a person needs right now.

Mary uses clear, down-to-earth conversation to sort through worries and make small plans that actually fit a person's life. She helps people manage depression, work through guilt or shame, and face social anxiety with step-by-step tools. When caregiving demands or relationship endings feel overwhelming, she breaks problems into manageable pieces so clients can catch their breath and decide what matters next.

Her approach blends client-centered care with strategies drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. That means people set the goals, and Mary offers ways to notice unhelpful thoughts, try different actions, and build steadier routines. Narrative and solution-focused methods are used when people want to rewrite difficult stories or move quickly toward practical change.

Mary has five years of experience as an AL LICSW - Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. She brings respect and empathy to each session and pays attention to cultural and identity factors that shape a person's experience. Her work includes supporting people coping with post-traumatic stress and communication problems.

Sessions aim to be useful from the first meetings, with skills to practice between appointments. Mary supports parents and caregivers managing stress, and she helps people work through body image concerns, forgiveness, and finding a renewed sense of purpose.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Mary often combines client-centered work with cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thought patterns and try new behaviors. Client-centered Therapy focuses on listening, acceptance, and following the client's goals, which helps people feel understood before making changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions and is useful for anxiety, depression, and many everyday stresses.

Mary also uses mindfulness techniques to teach simple practices for grounding and stress management. Mindfulness can help reduce reactivity and make it easier to use coping skills in the moment. Choosing the right mix of approaches is a collaborative process; Mary works with each person to identify goals, try methods, and adjust the plan based on what feels most helpful.

Online therapy formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which provide flexibility for different routines. Video is good for in-depth conversation and reading nonverbal cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for quick check-ins, and messaging supports shorter exchanges and between-session contact. These options make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives while working toward steady progress.