Mary McInerney

Ever since I was young, I knew I wanted to get into a career path that would make a difference in people’s lives. This interest led me to study psychology at Villanova University. I have a masters degree in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University, NYC (1995) and a masters degree in social work from Hunter College, NYC (2000). In addition, to completing an additional 200 hours of play therapy education with supervision to become a Registered Play Therapist with the Association for Play Therapy. I have worked with children and families for over 10 years. I have experience working with substance abuse, aggression, depression, anxiety, trauma, autism, developmental delays, infant mental health ADHD, divorce, grief, behavioral issues and more. I have also been a substitute teacher in OCPS the last 4 years and am a mom to 3, a high schooler, middle schooler and elementary school age. These experiences have also informed on how to approach the unique school, stressors and developmental issues of these various ages.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I work with all ages to deal with the difficult challenges life can bring. I believe we all strive to be the best version of ourselves. With the increased pressures of daily life, it can be beneficial to have some outside support and guidance to learn new ways to cope. I come from a strengths and solution focused perspective. I believe It is important to build on one’s strengths and find a practical and easy solution to address problem behaviors. In addition, I utilize a client centered approach to focus on your overall well being. The goal is to increase your adaptive coping skills to improve behaviors and performance at home and school/work. These goals can be addressed with different modalities such as talk therapy, walk and talk therapy in nature and play/sand/art therapy. My goal is to make it a collaborative and creative process to bring about healing. For children and adolescents, the approach of play is less intimidating than talk and speaks to their language. Of course, these approaches can also be beneficial to adults as well. I study the brain and how it impacts our behavior and development and I use this neurobiological lens to inform treatment. I am constantly researching new methods and bringing you the most effective approach.