Mary Karlan

LICSW, 13 years of experience
Authentic
Warm
Solution oriented

I am a licensed clinical social worker in private practice since 2015. Before that, I had years of experience working as a program director for a mental health agency in CT. Post Master’s degree. I did a two-year training in Couple’s and Family therapy at Ackerman Institute for the Family in Manhattan. Additionally, Since 2018, I have been working as a provider on the Emergency Mental Health Services Team. I am therefore trained in the diagnoses and treatment of patients presenting with mental health crisis’s in the ER. My client base is diverse. I have treated patients of all backgrounds, including children, adolescents, teens, young adults, adults, couples, blended families,,and the elderly population. My work also includes treating LGBQT patients, and patients of a diverse cultural identification. I have a great deal of experience treating mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, thought disorders, as well as, life transitions, relationship challenges, and trauma related disorders. I specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, however, each case is unique, and other modalities, I may find useful, are DBT, solution focused therapy, narrative therapy, etc. Thank you for your interest in my profile, and let me know if I can help! Mary

Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

In our first session together I will ask you some brief questions regarding your history, and then find out what specific or general concerns brings you to therapy. From there we will work collaboratively to develop a treatment plan that will serve to help you obtain your Therapeutic goals. You are the expert of your own life and only you know what you want to get out of therapy. I am here to help you achieve those goals!

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

My biggest strengths are that I am a “seasoned” therapist with many years of experience in treating not only more “mild” presentations, but I have treated patients with complicated presentations such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and PTSD. I have worked collaboratively with prescribers in order to obtain the best results for my patients when needed. Personally, I am a step-mother and biological mother of nine children and have a great interest, not to mention experience, with blended family situations.

Specialties

Top specialties

I identify as

Serves ages

Teenagers (13 to 17)

Licensed in

California

Accepts

Location

Virtual

My treatment methods

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I love CBT because it is evidenced based and works. CBT the “gold standard” for treatment of anxiety. I will give homework assignments/worksheets using CBT which my clients find enormously helpful when they are feeling anxious between sessions. What is also great about the worksheets is that they are available for you to look at and do again even when treatment with me ends.

, 34 ratings

1 rating with written reviews

October 8, 2025

I was very disappointed with Mary Karlan. I understand that we didn’t really match in our first session, but that’s not an excuse for cutting me off mid sentence and ending our session without warning. I also was alarmed by her talking about her problems dealing with patients on Medicaid. As someone not on Medicaid I didn’t understand her disparaging comments about Medicaid.

Verified client, age 65+
Review shared after session 1 with Mary