- Years in practice
- 20
- Credentials
- LPC, LMHC
- Licensed in
- Texas, Iowa
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Self esteem
- Focus
- Depression
About Mary
Mary McLaggan is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) who brings 20 years of experience to conversations about parenting concerns, stress, and the everyday problems that wear people down. She speaks English and Spanish and works with adults in Iowa.
Her style is steady and respectful, aiming to make the first steps feel manageable for a worried parent. Mary focuses on practical conversation and usable strategies.
Background and approach
Sessions center on what’s happening now and what can change next. She listens for patterns in relationships, mood, and behavior, then offers tools you can try between sessions. Her approach draws on attachment-informed work to look at how early relationships shape current struggles.
She also uses client-centered techniques that put the person’s goals at the center of each session. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) methods are used when helpful to teach coping skills and manage intense emotions. Over two decades Mary has supported people through anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD-related challenges, and life transitions.
She also addresses parenting stress, communication problems, body image, and caregiver strain. Her practice pays attention to identity issues, including LGBT concerns. Mary tailors sessions to fit each person’s needs and pace.
She encourages small experiments and clear steps instead of vague promises. If you want a counselor who listens and helps you build workable strategies, she aims to make the path forward clearer.
What Mary works with
Everything Mary lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Mary helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Mary lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How Mary blends approaches for online care
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationship patterns influence current behavior and emotional responses. In short sessions she helps people notice recurring relationship patterns and try different ways of relating that feel safer and more effective. Client-centered therapy focuses on the person's goals and values and uses listening and reflective conversation to clarify what matters most and what changes they want to make.Mary will collaborate with each person to choose the right mix of methods. She talks through goals, preferences, and day-to-day realities, then adjusts the approach as progress is made. Finding the best fit is an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time decision.
Online therapy offers flexibility that can fit busy family schedules. Video calls allow longer, face-to-face conversation. Phone sessions require less bandwidth and can be easier during a short break. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for brief check-ins, homework support, or when someone prefers writing over speaking. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while handling work, childcare, and other demands.
Questions people ask about Mary
What kinds of problems does Mary focus on?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, parenting strain, grief, ADHD-related challenges, relationship and intimacy concerns, and career or identity questions.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Mary uses a respectful, down-to-earth approach that centers the client's goals and teaches practical skills to cope with strong emotions and daily stressors.
What is her professional background?
She has 20 years of clinical experience supporting adults through life changes, mood concerns, trauma-related issues, and caregiving stress.
Which credentials and region does she practice in?
Mary holds LPC and LMHC credentials and sees clients located in Iowa.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
What formats are used for sessions?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging as ways to meet with a therapist.
How are fees and billing handled?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with Mary?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist's availability.
More therapists for parents in Iowa
All in Iowa
Dr. Edgar Villarreal
IA Psychologist
Iowa 7 years in practice English, Spanish
Dedicated psychologist for parenting and life stress
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
Lindsay DeMarlie
LCSW, LISW
Iowa 10 years in practice
Compassionate, practical support for parents and caregivers
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Trauma and abuse
Delishia Williams
LISW
Iowa 15 years in practice
Practical, person-centered support for parents
- Stress, Anxiety
- Grief
- Self esteem