Mary Brahm , LCPC

Mary Brahm is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois with 35 years of clinical experience working across behavioral health and substance use settings. She blends practical experience with a flexible, client-focused style developed from living and working with diverse populations around the world, and she emphasizes meeting people where they are while guiding them toward greater fulfillment and healthier functioning.

As a Marine Corps veteran with two decades of service, Mary has extensive experience supporting servicemembers, retirees, and their families, and she also brings depth in community mental health, senior therapist roles, and chemical dependency treatment. Her practice addresses a wide range of concerns, including addictions and recovery, bipolar disorder, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting and career challenges, and compassion fatigue, as well as co-morbidity and process addictions such as gambling and problematic sexual behaviors.

Mary holds multiple professional credentials in addition to her Illinois LCPC - including licensure in chemical dependency with supervisory status and social work licensure from Ohio - and she has pursued additional training such as life coaching, hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, and telehealth practice. Her work is grounded in evidence-informed methods and a humanistic, solutions-oriented stance that aims to build trust, identify triggers, and teach skills for long-term coping and growth.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care

Mary draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and EMDR to tailor online work to each person. ACT helps people clarify their values and build psychological flexibility by learning how to accept difficult thoughts and commit to meaningful action - it can be helpful for life transitions, depression, and anxiety. CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns through practical skills and structured practice - it is commonly used for mood disorders, anxiety, and stress-related problems. EMDR is a trauma-focused method that uses guided processing to reduce the intensity of traumatic memories and the emotional responses they trigger - it is often applied for PTSD and other trauma-related symptoms.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Mary works with clients to assess needs, preferences, and goals, and then blends methods so the therapy plan fits each person rather than forcing a single model. Licensed professionals and therapists can adapt techniques to the online setting to ensure interventions remain practical and client-centered.

Online therapy with Mary is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, providing flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to maintain consistency in care, access support from home or work, and integrate therapeutic work into daily life.