Margaret Kazmierski
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 21 years of experience supporting individuals through life’s challenges, transitions, and unexpected changes. I strive to create a warm, supportive, and nonjudgmental space where you can slow down, gain perspective, and explore what matters most to you. I work with adults experiencing anxiety, stress, grief and loss, relationship challenges, caregiver stress, and major life transitions such as navigating college, parenthood, divorce, empty nests and later life. I have a particular interest in supporting women through the many stages of life, from entering adulthood and developing identity, to motherhood and changing family roles, transitioning through perimenopause/menopause, caring for aging or ill loved ones, experiencing relationship loss and preparing for or adjusting to retirement. I also specialize in working with older adults and seniors as they navigate aging, changes in health and independence, loss and grief, caregiving, retirement, family transitions, and the emotional challenges that can accompany later life. I understand that these transitions can bring both opportunity and loss, and that it can be difficult to make space for yourself while caring for others or adjusting to change. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and strengths-based. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, navigating a difficult transition, or simply ready for something to feel different, therapy can provide a space to reconnect with yourself, identify your strengths, and move toward meaningful change. You don’t have to navigate life’s transitions alone. I’m here to help you find your way forward.
First session
Your first session is an opportunity for us to begin understanding **what brought you to therapy, what you are experiencing, and what you hope will change**. You do not need to have everything figured out before we meet. We’ll start with your story and explore the concerns that feel most important to you. This may include anxiety, trauma, grief, relationships, caregiving, chronic illness, divorce, career changes, or other significant life transitions. We may also explore family dynamics, cultural or generational experiences, identity, and the transitions that can shape different stages of life. Together, we’ll begin identifying **your goals for therapy**. Rather than telling you what you should work on, I believe therapy should be collaborative. My role is to help you slow down, understand your experiences, recognize patterns, reconnect with your strengths, and determine what matters most to you. I’ll also explain my approach and begin identifying strategies that may support your goals. I integrate **CBT, ACT, Solution-Focused Therapy, mindfulness, somatic approaches, and art-based interventions**. These approaches can complement one another and provide different ways to understand emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences. I work particularly well with clients who are **motivated to participate actively in therapy** and open to practicing skills between sessions. Depending on your goals, this may include reflection exercises, mindfulness practices, journaling, identifying patterns, or experimenting with new coping strategies. Most importantly, the first session is about beginning to build a **safe, collaborative therapeutic relationship**. You should leave with a clearer understanding of what you want from therapy and a sense that we have begun creating a path forward together.
Strengths
I bring warmth, patience, curiosity, and a genuinely collaborative approach. I don't believe I have all the answers and instead see therapy as a partnership, walking alongside clients as we slow down, make sense of their experiences, identify patterns, reconnect with their strengths, and explore what feels meaningful to them. This also means recognizing that there is no single approach that works for everyone. Every client brings a different history, personality, set of strengths, and way of experiencing the world. My role is to remain flexible so that together we can determine what approach may be most helpful. Sometimes that may mean using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify and shift unhelpful thought patterns. Other times, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy may help a client move toward their values while learning to make room for difficult emotions. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction may be helpful for someone experiencing chronic stress or feeling overwhelmed, while another client may benefit from solution-focused, motivational, somatic, or creative approaches. Knowing when to introduce a different modality or when to step back from a particular approach is part of being an effective partner in therapy. I want clients to understand not only *what* we are doing, but *why* we are doing it and how it connects to their goals. Most importantly, I bring genuine compassion and a deep belief in human resilience. My own understanding of multigenerational trauma has taught me that our histories can influence us without having to define us. My hope is that clients leave therapy feeling more understood, more connected to themselves, and more confident in their ability to navigate whatever comes next. I believe meaningful change is possible at any stage of life.
Ideal clients
My ideal clients are **motivated women and adults navigating meaningful life transitions** and looking for an active, collaborative approach to therapy. I work with young women transitioning to college and independence, women navigating relationships, parenthood, divorce, caregiving, perimenopause, empty nesting, and midlife changes, as well as older adults adjusting to retirement, changing roles, loss, and questions of identity and purpose. I am especially interested in working with clients who feel **“stuck between who I was and who I am becoming”** and are ready to explore what they want for the next chapter of their lives. I also work with clients experiencing anxiety, trauma, grief, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and other significant life changes. My ideal client is **motivated to participate actively in therapy**, open to self-reflection, and willing to practice skills and complete therapeutic “homework” between sessions. I use evidence-based approaches including CBT, ACT, and Solution-Focused Therapy, while incorporating **mindfulness, somatic psychology, and art-based interventions** when appropriate. These creative and experiential approaches are intended to complement—not replace—evidence-based treatment and can provide additional ways to explore emotions, patterns, and personal growth. My goal is to create a trauma-informed, collaborative space where clients can build on their strengths and move beyond simply surviving a transition toward **healing, growth, and a life in which they can truly thrive.**
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practical, goal-oriented talk therapy based on a simple idea: your thoughts, feelings, and actions are all connected. When you change how you think, you change how you feel and act. Here is how it works: Thoughts create feelings. Feelings drive behaviors .Behaviors reinforce thoughts. Instead of getting stuck in a loop of unhelpful or negative thoughts, CBT gives you tools to notice, challenge, and change those thoughts so you can handle difficult situations with more ease.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a practical approach focused on a simple idea: instead of fighting your difficult thoughts and feelings, you learn to accept them so they lose their power over you. Rather than wasting energy trying to stop or change uncomfortable emotions, ACT teaches you to live a full and meaningful life alongside them. Here is how ACT works in three steps: Accept your thoughts and feelings. Stop struggling against them and let them just exist. Choose a meaningful direction. Identify what truly matters to you and what your core values are. Take action. Commit to making choices that move you toward those values, even when it feels uncomfortable. In short, ACT doesn't try to "fix" your thoughts; it changes your relationship with them so you can stop overthinking and start living.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a program that teaches you how to use meditation, yoga, and deep breathing to focus entirely on the present moment without judgment. By learning to anchor yourself in the "now," you can train your brain to notice stressful thoughts and body sensations without automatically reacting to them. Ultimately, this practice changes your relationship with stress, helping you respond to life's challenges with calmness and clarity instead of feeling overwhelmed.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Spiritual but not religious
White
Woman
Top specialties
Chronic Illness / Medical Issues
Life Transitions
Self Esteem
Other specialties
Anxiety
Burnout
Grief
Loneliness / Isolation
Parenting
Perinatal / Postpartum
Serves
Adults (18 to 64)
Elders (65 and above)
Individual Therapy
Woman
Doesn't specialize in
ADHD
Addiction / Substance Use
Autism
Child or Adolescent
Couples Counseling
Family Therapy
Licensed in
MarylandLicense 12506