Mari DeRienzo

Mari DeRienzo is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) based in New Jersey with 39 years of experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, and relationship concerns in a calm, steady way. She also supports clients facing parenting challenges, intimacy-related issues, and the effects of ADHD.

Her sessions focus on creating an open space where clients can say what they think and feel without judgment. Mari listens first and responds with practical ideas people can try between sessions. She emphasizes small, doable steps that build confidence over time.

Mari combines several approaches to match each person’s needs. She uses client-centered methods to follow what matters most to the client. She includes cognitive behavioral techniques to spot and reframe unhelpful thoughts. Motivational interviewing helps when people feel stuck or unsure about change.

She also draws on solution-focused ideas to set clear goals and on Internal Family Systems to look at different parts of the self that influence behavior. These approaches are used to help with communication problems, codependency, commitment issues, and other relationship stresses.

Mari has worked across many settings during her career and brings that breadth to everyday problems. She is comfortable discussing topics that can feel awkward, including kink and alternative sexual cultures, addiction, and issues related to intellectual disability. She encourages a practical, respectful conversation about what matters to each person.

How Mari’s approaches translate to online work

Mari uses client-centered therapy to follow what matters most to each person, focusing on listening, understanding, and reflecting back what the client says. This helps people feel heard and guides each session toward their priorities. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify thought patterns that feed anxiety or low mood and teaches practical exercises to change those patterns, which can be practiced between sessions. Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative way to resolve mixed feelings about change, useful for habits, addiction, or when someone feels stuck.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan over time based on what works for the client.

The original biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm current session options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. It also allows people to continue regular work on goals and homework exercises between sessions. Licensed professionals tailor sessions to a client’s needs and daily routines to help make progress in practical, manageable steps.