Mary Hargarten

Mary Hargarten is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 25 years of clinical experience in Wisconsin. She offers a steady, compassionate presence for people dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship stress, grief, trauma, and life transitions. Her approach is warm and nonjudgmental, with a practical focus on building skills that help in day-to-day life.

Mary emphasizes Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside cognitive and mindfulness-based tools to address painful memories and current symptoms. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help people notice unhelpful thoughts, make values-based choices, and practice skills that reduce distress. She also draws on client-centered and solution-focused ideas to set short-term goals and center the person’s priorities.

Her background includes work with issues such as panic attacks, postpartum depression, domestic violence, family of origin problems, and caregiving stress. Mary pays attention to how family history shapes beliefs, and she helps people sort which patterns are useful and which to change. She supports people dealing with identity and intimacy concerns, including LGBT issues and parenting struggles.

Sessions aim to strengthen existing coping abilities while introducing new strategies for communication, emotion regulation, and problem solving. Mary describes therapy as a team effort: the client brings life expertise and she offers clinical tools to reach practical goals. She brings patience, a sense of humor, and a focus on whole-person balance in emotional, social, and practical areas.

To begin, prospective clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions according to Mary’s availability. Her work is rooted in helping people find steady footing during difficult times.

How Trauma-Focused and Mindful Therapies Work Online

Trauma-Focused Therapy helps people address painful memories and the ways those memories affect daily life. It often involves careful pacing, stabilization skills, and grounding strategies to reduce distress and improve functioning. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, teaches people to notice unhelpful thoughts and focus on taking actions that match their values, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, and life transitions.

Mindfulness-based work teaches simple attention and breathing practices to calm the body and steady attention. These practices support emotion regulation and help people respond rather than react in stressful moments. Choosing the right approach is part of the process; the therapist will work collaboratively to try different strategies and settle on what fits the client’s needs, goals, and preferences.

Confirm current session options before booking, since formats are not specified here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow work or family breaks to be used for appointments. Some sessions may be shorter check-ins when schedules are tight, while others focus on skill practice and processing. Talk with the therapist about the session rhythm that best matches daily life and what will help progress toward practical goals.