Mary Gales-Wenz

Mary Gales-Wenz is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with over 40 years of practice. She brings steady experience and a calm, practical approach to people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, trauma, and other life challenges.

Mary earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work and spent two decades working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in both St. Cloud and Minneapolis. She provided care in outpatient and inpatient settings and later worked in a variety of community behavioral health roles.

Her work history includes roles at Hazelden Center for Youth and Families, Allina Behavioral Health Clinics, and Central MN Mental Health Clinics. She has also done clinical supervision for residential treatment within the Department of Corrections and worked in behavioral health management for a Minnesota insurance company.

Mary has experience supporting adults, seniors, and adolescents in chemical dependency and mental health programs. She has focused on post-traumatic stress, anxiety, sexual and physical trauma, depression, and related concerns. She keeps current with new research and treatment approaches and is interested in the mind-body connection.

In clinical practice she uses Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside client-centered and cognitive-behavioral ideas. Mary also draws on approaches such as dialectical behavior therapy and emotionally-focused work to help people build coping skills and emotional understanding.

Approaches that translate to online care

Mary uses Trauma-Focused Therapy to help people process traumatic memories and reduce their impact on daily life. This approach aims to make distressing memories less disruptive and supports rebuilding a sense of safety and control.

She also uses Client-Centered methods that keep the person's goals and preferences central, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to teach practical skills for managing thoughts, mood, and behavior. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and coping with life changes.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Mary will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit best based on their needs, goals, and what feels manageable. The plan can be adjusted over time as progress and preferences evolve.

Confirm available session options before booking, since formats are not specified in the biography. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or caregiving schedules, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when that suits the person. They also let people choose quieter surroundings or lower-bandwidth options when helpful. Licensed professionals often adapt trauma-focused and CBT techniques effectively for remote sessions, while keeping the plan tailored to each individual's comfort and progress.