Mary Blankenburg, LISW
Compassionate listener who helps reshape life stories
Details
| Name | Mary Blankenburg |
|---|---|
| Credentials | LISW |
| Based in | Iowa |
| Licensed in | Iowa |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 35 |
About Mary
Mary Blankenburg is a Licensed Independent Social Worker with 35 years of clinical experience. She draws on decades of practice in community agencies and personal work to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and relationship concerns. Her style is calm and deliberate, aiming to build trust and clear understanding in early sessions.
Mary favors conversational work that helps people tell and reshape the stories that guide their lives.
Background and approach
She pays attention to how past events affect present choices. She also notices how the body holds stress and uses gentle movement and awareness to support emotional change. Her background includes long-term practice with adults presenting trauma, personality-related struggles, and mood disorders.
Mary uses simple tools from narrative approaches, cognitive techniques, and acceptance-based methods to help people practice new ways of responding. She emphasizes learning small skills that can be used between sessions. Sessions typically focus on practical steps - noticing patterns, testing new behaviors, and naming difficult feelings.
She encourages increased self-kindness and clearer communication in relationships. Work is paced to match each person's comfort and goals. Mary blends attachment-informed thinking with client-centered listening.
That means she looks for how early relationships shaped current needs while staying grounded in what matters today. The result is a straightforward, steady approach that helps people move forward one step at a time.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Grief among the things Mary works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Life purpose
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Mary among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Mary directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Mary directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
How narrative and skills-based approaches work online
The narrative approach helps people tell and revise the stories that shape their life choices. Online sessions use conversation to identify themes and moments to reframe, which can reduce shame and increase options. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing thoughts and choosing values-driven actions; it helps with anxiety, stress, and life changes by pairing awareness with simple behavioral steps. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns influence current reactions and helps people try different, healthier ways of connecting.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose which methods fit best given their goals, comfort, and daily life. That means sessions can blend narrative, ACT, and attachment ideas as needed rather than sticking to one method.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls are useful for deeper conversations and reading nonverbal cues. Phone sessions can be an easier option when bandwidth or appearance is a concern. Live chat and text-based messaging suit brief check-ins, skill practice, or times when writing out feelings feels easier. These options let people fit therapy into work, family, and caregiving schedules while keeping continuity between appointments.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of concerns does Mary address?
Mary works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, sleep problems, anger, career concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and related challenges.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a conversational, narrative-focused style that also incorporates acceptance-based and cognitive tools. Sessions emphasize storytelling, noticing patterns, and learning small practical skills.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Mary brings 35 years of clinical experience from community settings and independent practice. That experience guides a steady, practice-oriented approach to common concerns.
What credential does she hold and where is she located?
She is an Iowa Licensed Independent Social Worker - LISW - and practices in Iowa.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are offered?
Mary works online using video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How are fees handled for therapy?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Mary are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Mary where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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