About Marikay
Marikay Gazda is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 35 years of experience helping people manage anxiety, stress, grief, and depression. She focuses on practical ways to cope during big life changes and the everyday strain that wears people down. Her work emphasizes kindness, clear communication, and rebuilding a sense of purpose.
She often meets people facing chronic illness, caregiving burdens, or the challenges of aging. Sessions center on improving self-love, easing isolation, and addressing panic attacks or attachment concerns.
Background and approach
Marikay uses straightforward conversations to identify what feels most urgent and what might help right away. Her style blends client-centered listening with approaches that look at thoughts, feelings, and relationship patterns. That means she pays attention to how past experiences shape current reactions and finds simple steps to change unhelpful cycles.
She also draws on solution-focused ideas to create small, practical goals. Marikay helps people work through guilt, shame, emptiness, and communication problems. She supports those dealing with cancer, hospice and end-of-life issues, chronic pain, and caregiver stress.
The emphasis is on what the person wants to change and achievable ways to get there. Sessions are offered in English and provided remotely by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. To start, a short matching questionnaire helps connect a person to the right therapist and schedule.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding each person's experience without judgment. Online sessions using this approach give people space to describe what matters most and set goals based on their values and priorities.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors affect feelings. In remote sessions CBT can be very practical - identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, trying small behavior changes between meetings, and tracking what helps reduce anxiety or panic.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy addresses attachment and how emotions shape relationships. Through video or phone conversations, this approach helps people notice patterns in how they respond to others and practice new ways of connecting or communicating.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Marikay collaborates with each person to decide which blend of methods fits their needs, goals, and preferences. She checks in as therapy progresses and adjusts the plan based on what is most helpful.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversations when that is useful. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier to fit into a busy day. Live chat or text-based messaging can work well for brief check-ins, tracking progress, or when someone prefers writing over speaking. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into different routines.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Marikay help with?
What is her therapeutic approach like?
How much experience does she have?
Where is Marikay licensed and based?
Which languages are supported?
What session formats are available?
How does payment and cost work?
How do I begin working with her?
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Emptiness
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 35 years
- Licensed
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.