Mary was trained in DBT by Shari Manning, Ph.D., one of Marsha Linehan’s original trainees. She has a distinct affinity for mindfulness-based therapeutic modalities, working with young adults and LGBTQ clients. A Certified Yoga teacher in both Vinyasa (Flow) and Yin styles, they incorporate these practices to build client’s abilities to better connect with their inherent bodily and interoceptive wisdom. Mary has trained with Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D., and his Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) founders, Dave Emerson, YACEP, and Jenn Turner, LMHC, RYT. She is also experienced in other movement modalities which promote mindfulness, such as motorcycling, martial arts, dance, and weightlifting.

Mary brings over 15 years of experience working with teens, young adults, and adults experiencing PTSD, complex trauma, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, substance use disorders, family members with substance use disorders, and relationship issues.

Prior to coming to The Bethesda Group, Mary worked at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s Addiction Treatment Clinic for 6 years. The vast majority of clients she worked with here were suffering from co-occurring trauma-based and substance use disorders. She created several groups using mindfulness meditation, was the clinic liaison to the psychiatric inpatient clinic, and taught psychiatry residents and psychiatric nurse trainees about substance use treatment in the military setting.

Prior to Walter Reed she practiced in Philadelphia and grew her specializations in working with underrepresented minorities, namely women and LGBTQ clients. They served on the board of Change Philly Today, working to secure housing, job training, and educational opportunities for LGBTQ youth. Mary also sought training at Harvard’s Positive Psychotherapy summit, where her natural focus on bringing client’s joy into the therapy experience flourished. It was during this time that Mary began her yoga practice at Wake Up Yoga and became a yoga teacher.

After receiving her MSW, Mary worked at Dawn Farm, providing teens and their families with substance use treatment through the Washtenaw County Juvenile Justice System. Her experience here included residential, IOP and outpatient levels of care, and a team of over 30 professionals. Here they coordinated with probation, school representatives, and the juvenile and adult court systems to provide treatment and services to families in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti areas. Mary began a formal practice of Buddhist meditation in 2008 at the Zen Buddhism Center in Ann Arbor, which she incorporated into her psychotherapy practice.

Mary received her MSW in 2006 from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, with a focus on family systems theory as applied to individual therapy. During her Master’s program, she worked with teens at Manchester High school, both individually, and by facilitating mentor groups which matched upper classmen with each freshman. Their work at the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan was geared to low-cost mental health services for women and their families.

When not working, Mary spends her time riding her Indian motorcycle, cooking and eating all the different cuisine she can find, weightlifting, being silly with friends, and playing with their Siamese cat Garfunkle.