Marianne McCarthy, LPC

Since 2006, my experience has been growing in guiding and supporting folks in overcoming the psychological barriers of severe mental diagnoses, trauma, anxiety, grief and bereavement, aging and death concerns, anger, self-harm and suicidal ideation, abuse, parenting, relationships, and divorce. I learn what the individual is seeking to gain and create a therapeutic approach unique to that individual. I enjoy working with adults and couples and provide both group and individual counseling. Choosing a counselor can be a difficult process so I embrace every opportunity as an honor to build a trusting relationship and unveil wellness.  My greatest goal as a therapist is to empower my clients to feel confident about taking the lead with their mental wellness. Counseling will be a safe place where you can allow yourself to be vulnerable and express your concerns without fear. I want it to feel productive and helpful and I will guide you in making the most of your sessions. Many of my clients have found that to be a refreshingly healing experience.   I consider myself an eclectic therapist; taking pieces of multiple theories and customizing an approach to meet your individual needs. My training includes cognitive behavioral strategies to learn new ways of thought and self-talk and challenge unhealthy perspectives, solution focused therapy to keep counseling productive with regard to current struggles, mindfulness to help you slow down your mind and capture more those meaningful moments, acceptance and commitment therapy to support getting out of your guilty or shamed mind and into your life, dialectical behavior therapy to learn how to manage overwhelming emotions, and some psychodynamic approaches to process the relative life experiences in order to accomplish lasting wellness. We can talk about whether you prefer a direct approach where I provide a lot of training and coaching and practice assignments, an indirect approach where you're more in the driver's seat and I'm there to keep you on task and offer reflective feedback, or a combination of both.  Life, for anyone, is not without hardships and loss. I will use relative personal experiences to empathize with you on as many levels as possible. There becomes a purpose in the pain through that. Pain does not discriminate and I am prepared to learn as well as teach while I walk the path of recovery and wellness with you.  WHAT TO EXPECT There is so much pain and loss and trauma in our world, it becomes overwhelming, confusing, devastating, and we become lost. We continue to float through because that’s what we have to do. Guilt and shame can start to rule our lives or we fall into the trap of comparisons. Fears and doubts take hold…sometimes addictions. And all of these things rob us of our confidence…and sometimes even our hope. Healing takes time, but healing is real. Give yourself a safe space to purge the disorganized thoughts, to process, to organize, to make sense of, to be validated for whatever it is that has resulted from your story. Find grace. Find forgiveness. Restore hope. I won’t have all the answers…or the cure, but I can help you come to a place of acceptance. I can empower you to understand when and how to implement boundaries. I can guide you in discovering your needs and empower you to communicate so that they are met. I can walk with you through your thoughts and show you ways to manage them. You’d be surprised how good simply feeling heard can feel. I can teach you what I know and you will teach me more compassion, more open mindedness, more understanding, more culture, and more patience along with countless other invaluable lessons and experiences. Maybe your situation doesn’t feel that heavy and you’re looking for a place to optimize your wellness. Maybe you prefer goal oriented structured and/or didactic approaches that may involve assignments, reading, or homework. Maybe you just need to talk. Maybe you have something specific you are seeking temporary therapy to work through. Maybe you’re the one who has hurt someone and are afraid to confront therapy. Maybe you don’t know. I enjoy counseling in all of those cases. FAQ What happens in a consultation? The free 30 minute consultation is designed to help you determine if this counselor is the best fit for you. I will definitely give you the chance to ask questions, but I will also ask what you’re willing to share about your intentions for seeking therapy and gain some background information as well as current circumstances. This times always seems to go by quickly, but we are sometimes able to identify a few goals and discuss some intentions for treatment. What if I don’t like you? That’s okay! You don’t have to like your counselor necessarily, but it is important that you feel comfortable sharing vulnerably with them. I, or any counselor, won’t be a best fit for everyone. Don’t give up your search. Try another consultation. You can share openly with me or just move on. I understand the importance of this and will not take it personally. What if I feel like you don’t like me? Chances are, that’s not the case. No one likes everything about anyone. I want to help you like yourself. If you’re thinking I don’t like you, it might be because there is something about yourself you’re insecure about. Let me help you with that. I also encourage my clients to be boldly open with me about concerns like this so I have an opportunity to speak to them and put them to rest. What if I need to cancel? My policy, which will you sign when you’re creating a profile for services, requires 24 hours notice. Without the notice, a $50 fee is invoiced. Please utilize the Theranest portal to cancel/reschedule or send me a quick text/email. Can I text or call you if I’m having a crisis? You can attempt to reach out to me, but my response will unlikely be immediate enough for a crisis situation. Please reach out to a crisis hotline or emergency services if you’re experiencing a crisis. If you’re not experiencing a crisis, and just need some consultation between sessions, I invite your outreach and will do my best to meet your needs. I encourage my clients to keep a running note log of things that come up between sessions to discuss in session. Can I bring someone to my appointment with me for support or as part of my journey? Absolutely, but they will need to be an adult and will also need to complete a profile in SimplePractice and sign consents in order to document their attendance legally. Will you call the police on me? Please refer to my very specific HIPAA explanation of circumstances when I am legally obligated to breach confidentiality found in the documents section of your client portal profile. If this is a concern for you, please bring it up during your initial visit to gain a more thorough understanding of how I approach these situations. Can I feel comfortable talking about political issues with you? It’s my intention for you to feel comfortable talking about any issues with me. This process is not about our alignment on matters. It’s about what these matters mean to you personally and how they impact you. That’s what is important to me with regard to our work together. It’s professional and ethical practice for a therapist to only disclose their personal experiences and opinions as it is directly relative to the therapeutic work. What if I have a question that is not on this FAQ page? Please contact me with your question and I will directly answer it or jot it down and ask during your initial visit. How often do I need to come to therapy? This simply depends on your intentions and situation. Some people come to therapy multiple times a week, many weekly, most every two weeks, and plenty as needed for “maintenance.” Sometimes, these decisions are based on treatment needs, sometimes schedules, sometimes finances, sometimes hesitation. We work when we can, but I encourage my clients to consider their session as more of a “check-in” for therapeutic work that they will be doing throughout their time between sessions. This is how you can get the most out of your time here. It can definitely help to move things along more rapidly if, initially, we meet more frequently, but it’s not required. Those initial sessions involve developing a strong rapport and learning your story. How long will I need to come to therapy? Forever. Of course, not regularly forever, but I believe every 3-4 months is necessary for anyone who has achieved an actualized wellness in order to maintain it. It also helps to maintain a rapport with your therapist in case you encounter a challenging a situation later on. I have clients who are in their maintenance phase of therapy and still prefer to attend every other week or so. The healing phase of therapy, with weekly sessions, can be expected to take anywhere from six months to two years or more. This really just depends on where you are in your journey. Do you go to therapy? Absolutely. What insurance do you accept? I am only in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Everyone’s BCBS plan is different, but I’m happy to look into your benefits to try and determine what you can expect for out of pocket expenses. If you have another insurer with out of network benefits, I can provide a special receipt for you to submit for reimbursement once your invoice is satisfied with me. Please refer to documents in the portal to understand what is involved with utilizing your insurer for mental health services.