La Vie Counseling Associates

About Mary

Mary has over twenty years’ experience as a marriage and family therapist. She received her Masters in Counseling from Arizona State University after completing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Bethany College in West Virginia.

She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including inpatient treatment, substance abuse treatment, school-based counseling, and family and individual counseling in a non-profit agency. She worked at a private, non-profit agency for her first few years in California before joining a group practice in Mission Viejo. She later took on the leadership of that group which became LaVie Counseling Associates in 1998.

Mary employs a systems approach; using a wide variety of perspectives and approaches as the situation demands. She enjoys helping people to work through change, empowering them with skills and insight.

Mary is an active member of her church, Trabuco Presbyterian, and brings her framework of a Christian perspective to her work, whenever appropriate. She is a board member of the Epilepsy Alliance of Orange County. Her professional affiliations incude that American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), and the Association for Play Therapy (APT).

• About Mary

  Mary has over twenty years’ experience as a marriage and family therapist. She received her Masters in Counseling from Arizona State University after completing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Bethany College in West Virginia.

  She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including inpatient treatment, substance abuse treatment, school-based counseling, and family and individual counseling in a non-profit agency. She worked at a private, non-profit agency for her first few years in California before joining a group practice in Mission Viejo. She later took on the leadership of that group which became LaVie Counseling Associates in 1998.

  Mary employs a systems approach; using a wide variety of perspectives and approaches as the situation demands. She enjoys helping people to work through change, empowering them with skills and insight.

  Mary is an active member of her church, Trabuco Presbyterian, and brings her framework of a Christian perspective to her work, whenever appropriate. She is a board member of the Epilepsy Alliance of Orange County. Her professional affiliations incude that American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), and the Association for Play Therapy (APT).

• How I Work

  I work collaboratively with my patients. I partner with them, helping to bring clarity and healing; clearing a path to recovery. I provide the perspective and the safe place for the process that is difficult to achieve outside of the therapeutic environment. My patients are confident that I am on their side as they address the challenges in their lives.

  My work is pragmatic. We look at the end goal and break down the work into smaller segments. As each segment is mastered, the way to the goal becomes clearer and more satisfying results begin to appear.

  We often find that the way we think creates the setting for the challenges in our life. I work with people to see the places where they can change the way they think. Changing the thinking can result in improvements in our lives.

  The challenges in our lives also come from outside of us. Our life situations, relationships, both past and present, and other factors must be handled creatively in order for us to find greater wholeness and stability. I help my patients to develop new approaches to the parts of their lives that present them with challenges.

• Specialties

  Mary has always served people with a very broad range of issues including:

  • Parenting issues
  • Couples therapy
  • Medical family therapy
  • Play therapy for children ages five to twelve
  • Social skills for children and teens
  • Divorce
  • Pre-marital counseling
  • Therapy from a Christian perspective
  • Childhood trauma
  • Marital conflict
  • Panic attacks
  • Anger management
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Workshops Available

  • Parenting Issues
  • Depression / Anxiety
  • Attachment and Bonding issues
  • Coping strategies: Learning to be Resilient
  • Pre-marital issues: Preparing for Marriage

Newsletter