Mary Van Hooser, LISW

Mary Van Hooser is an Ohio LISW - Licensed Independent Social Worker with 35 years of experience. She works with people who feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or traumatized and who need practical coping skills. She also supports people living with chronic mental health disorders and helps them engage with community life.

Mary encourages people to talk about their mental health at their own pace. She listens first and helps people identify what calms them and what feels stigmatizing. Conversations focus on real-world steps to feel steadier and more supported.

Her work includes concerns such as addictions, depression, anxiety, anger, grief, and stress. She also addresses caregiver strain, first responder issues, veteran and armed forces concerns, and mood disorders. Mary notes compassion fatigue, guilt, and isolation as areas she frequently sees.

Mary describes herself as open and direct. She draws on her own lived experience in a family affected by severe mental illness and addiction, and on her experience as a veteran. That background shapes the way she relates rather than any single technique.

In sessions she combines client-centered conversation with practical strategies. She uses approaches like cognitive behavioral techniques, dialectical behavior ideas, existential thinking, and mindfulness to help people build skills. The focus is on problem solving, insight, and steady steps toward feeling more functional in daily life.

How her approaches translate to online work