About Maria
Maria Alderman is a licensed social worker in Michigan who helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, and major life changes. She offers calm, practical support for mood concerns like depression and bipolar symptoms, and for struggles with sleep, eating, or substance use. Maria also works with people facing relationship strain, intimacy issues, parenting stress, and identity-related concerns including LGBT topics.
She keeps conversations direct and respectful. Sessions are tailored to each person’s situation and goals.
Background and approach
Maria listens first, then suggests strategies that match what a person wants to try. She draws on several therapy styles to fit different needs. Her background includes six years of professional experience as a Licensed Master Social Worker, LMSW.
That experience informs an approach that blends thinking-focused work with deeper exploration of how past patterns affect present life. Maria often uses tools to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors in daily life. Clients can expect a mix of short-term skill building and longer conversations about core patterns.
She may use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques alongside client-centered listening. Motivational Interviewing can be part of work when someone is working through change or addiction. Maria emphasizes collaboration and clear goals.
She supports people through practical steps and steady problem-solving. Her aim is to help clients find ways to feel more settled and able to handle life’s demands.
Approaches that fit online care and everyday life
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It encourages choosing actions that reflect personal values so life feels more meaningful even when worry or pain remains. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; it provides clear tools for changing unhelpful thinking and trying new actions that reduce anxiety and low mood. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and working at the client’s pace, which helps people feel understood while they decide what changes to make.Finding the right blend of approaches is part of the work. Maria will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match their goals, preferences, and the issues they bring. That might mean short-term skill-focused work, deeper exploration of patterns, or a mix of both depending on what someone needs.
Online therapy makes it easier to fit sessions into a busy life. Video calls let people work face-to-face when they want that connection. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be simpler to join during a break. Live chat and text messaging offer shorter check-ins, ongoing support between sessions, and flexibility for those who prefer writing. These options give practical ways to keep therapy consistent while balancing everyday demands.
Questions people ask
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What languages are supported and can international clients work together?
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What should someone do to begin working together?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 6 years
- Licensed
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
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