Mary Blankenburg, LISW

Mary Blankenburg is an Iowa LISW (Licensed Independent Social Worker) with 35 years of clinical experience. She works with adults on common concerns such as anxiety, depression, stress, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, and anger. Sessions are practical and focused on how feelings show up in daily life.

She has practiced in community mental health, adolescent services, and private practice. That range informs a flexible approach to problems rooted in trauma, attachment, and personality patterns. Mary pays attention to how past experiences affect present reactions and relationships.

Her work draws on several evidence-informed methods. She uses cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking, acceptance and commitment principles to clarify values and action, and attachment-based ideas to trace patterns in close relationships. Dialectical behavior strategies are used for managing intense emotions and coping skills.

Mary also integrates gentle body-focused work to help people notice how stress and anger show up physically. She guides simple exercises that link breathing, posture, and movement to emotional states. This helps people recognize warning signs and try new ways to respond.

Practical skill-building is a core part of sessions. Clients practice strategies for lowering reactivity, improving communication, and rebuilding trust in relationships. Mary describes the work as straightforward and often slow but useful for lasting change.

She frames therapy as a collaborative effort. Together with each person she assesses strengths, sets short-term goals, and adjusts methods so the work fits their daily life.

Approach and how online sessions work