Maria Conforti, LCSW

Maria Conforti is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 16 years of experience in social work across many settings. She has worked in private practice, group homes, nonprofit programs, and correctional environments. Maria draws on a long career to help clients cut through confusion and find practical next steps.

Her style is direct but compassionate. She offers a judgment-free space while also calling attention to what needs change. Maria favors collaborative work and expects clients to participate actively in sessions so progress can happen.

Maria uses an eclectic mix of methods tailored to each person. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is part of her toolkit, along with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, dialectical behavior approaches, and attachment-focused work. She also brings elements of client-centered and analytic thinking when it helps make sense of patterns rooted in childhood.

She often focuses on relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, coaching around life goals, and ADHD. Additional areas she addresses include abandonment, attachment issues, body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness, communication problems, and separation and divorce concerns.

Maria speaks English and Italian and practices in Illinois. Her goal is to teach skills clients can carry forward so they rely less on therapy over time. She looks for people who are ready to engage, willing to try hard work, and open to honest feedback.

How Maria’s Approaches Work Online

Maria combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to give practical tools and clearer perspective. CBT focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors, which can help with anxiety, relationship patterns, and ADHD challenges. ACT teaches ways to accept difficult feelings while committing to actions that match personal values, useful for grief, chronic stress, and life transitions.

She treats approach selection as a team effort. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, try techniques, and adjust the plan based on what works. That collaborative process helps shape sessions into something useful and realistic for each person.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to make therapy flexible. Video is good for face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth or being on camera is difficult. Live chat and text messaging allow quick check-ins, short coaching moments, or ongoing support between longer sessions. These options help people fit therapy into work, caregiving, or busy lives.