About Mary
Mary Alfinito is a licensed clinical social worker with 40 years of professional experience. She helps people who are coping with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD, trauma and abuse, and LGBT-related concerns. Mary also supports clients dealing with self-esteem, career changes, and major life transitions.
Her approach is straightforward and practical. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and DBT skills to teach emotional regulation and distress tolerance.
How Mary works
Trauma-focused work is used when past events continue to affect daily life. Sessions are calm, direct, and focused on skills that people can use between meetings. Mary has worked in New York for decades and brings long experience to each conversation.
She aims to make the first steps into therapy less intimidating by matching strategies to what a person actually needs. Her style balances structure with warmth so people can try new ways of coping without feeling overwhelmed. People who reach out can expect discussion of concrete goals and short-term plans when that fits, along with deeper processing when needed.
She offers practical tools for managing panic, grief, and chronic stress. Mary pays attention to how life roles and responsibilities affect emotional health. Over time Mary helps people build routines and skills that support steady progress.
The focus is on usable change - clearer thinking, steadier moods, and better problem-solving - so everyday life becomes more manageable.
Mary lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What Mary works with
The areas below are the ones Mary selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW-R |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 40 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that translate well to online work
CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, helps people notice and change thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. It is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and many everyday difficulties because it focuses on specific skills and small experiments to try between sessions.DBT, or dialectical behavior therapy, teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving communication, and tolerating distress. It is often used when emotions feel overwhelming and when people need concrete tools for staying steady during hard moments.
Trauma-focused therapy concentrates on how past events affect current thinking, feelings, and behavior. It moves at a pace the person can tolerate and pairs processing with grounding skills to reduce distress between sessions.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or has not worked before. Together they decide which methods to emphasize and can shift strategies if something is not helping.
Online sessions via video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video allows face-to-face conversation when that matters. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging work well for short check-ins, skill practice, or when typing feels easier than speaking. These formats offer flexibility so people can get consistent support without long commutes.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with MaryWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does Mary help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How much experience does she bring?
What credentials and location apply?
Which languages are supported?
What session formats are available?
How are fees handled?
How do I begin working with her?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions