Mary Gales-Wenz, LICSW

Mary Gales-Wenz is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with over 40 years in behavioral health. She provides calm, practical support for people dealing with stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma, grief, depression, and life transitions. Mary is based in Minnesota and speaks English. She works from approaches that encourage people to speak and be heard. Sessions focus on short-term goals and practical skills people can use between meetings. Mary draws on techniques from client-centered work, cognitive behavioral ideas, dialectical strategies, emotionally-focused work, and mindfulness. Much of her career was spent at the Department of Veterans Affairs in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Mary also provided services at Hazelden Center for Youth and Families, Allina Behavioral Health Clinics, and Central Minnesota Mental Health Clinics. She has experience in residential treatment supervision and behavioral healthcare management. Mary has helped adults, seniors, and adolescents in chemical dependency and mental health settings. Her background includes addressing post-traumatic stress, anxiety, sexual and physical trauma, depression, and substance use concerns. She keeps current with research and newer treatment methods. She has maintained a small private practice since 2009 and is interested in the mind-body connection. Mary uses approaches that help people understand how thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations interact. She also has experience with methods designed to process traumatic memories and the emotional experience around them.

How Mary’s approaches translate to online therapy

Mary often uses client-centered work and cognitive behavioral therapy in sessions. Client-centered therapy means the therapist listens with care and follows the person’s lead to build trust and clearer goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on spotting unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety and improve mood.

She also draws on dialectical behavior therapy tools for emotional regulation and distress tolerance. Those DBT techniques teach concrete skills for handling strong emotions, managing conflict, and steadier decision making during stressful times.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Mary collaborates with each person to pick methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they decide what to try first and adjust over time based on what helps.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten commute time, and allow brief check-ins when needed. Some formats use less bandwidth or are better for shorter progress updates, so check which options the therapist currently offers when you schedule.