About Mary
Mary Ann Poynter uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strains, grief, depression, and major life transitions. As a licensed clinician with two decades of practice, she centers the client’s experience and strengths while offering practical guidance for coping, emotional regulation, and rebuilding confidence.
Background and approach
Mary Ann emphasizes collaboration and supports clients in identifying goals and small steps that lead to measurable change. Her background includes work across a range of clinical concerns such as abandonment and attachment issues, body image and self-esteem struggles, caregiving stress, and challenges related to aging and serious illness.
She is also familiar with personality-related patterns like avoidant and antisocial traits, as well as co-morbidity and communication or control-related difficulties. Licensed as an LMHC and an LPC, Mary Ann practices in Illinois and conducts sessions in English, bringing 20 years of experience to each therapeutic relationship.
Evidence-Based Approaches and Online Access
Mary Ann draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to address symptoms of anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship stress. One commonly used approach focuses on cognitive and behavioral strategies to identify unhelpful thought patterns and build practical coping skills for day-to-day stress and mood management. Another frequently applied method concentrates on attachment and relationship patterns, helping clients explore how past experiences shape current communication and trust issues and develop healthier ways of relating.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Mary Ann works with each client to assess needs, preferences, and goals, then tailors interventions so the plan evolves as progress unfolds. Clients are invited to offer feedback about what feels helpful so adjustments can be made together.
Online therapy with Mary Ann is available through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which can increase flexibility for scheduling and make care more accessible when in-person visits are difficult. These formats support ongoing work on coping skills, problem-solving, and emotional processing while fitting into a client’s daily life.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does Mary Ann help with?
What is her therapeutic style and approach?
How much clinical experience does she bring?
What credentials and where is she licensed?
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
What session formats are available for online work?
How are fees structured for therapy with her?
What is the process to begin working together?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Grief
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
- Experience
- 20 years
- Licensed
- Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina
- Languages
- English