Marilyn Traynor, LCSW

Marilyn Traynor is a licensed clinical social worker with 40 years of practice in Illinois. She focuses on guiding adults through stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and major life changes. Marilyn works with people who want clear tools and steady support as they cope with tough challenges.

Her style is compassionate and straightforward. She listens carefully and helps people name what feels overwhelming. Sessions often include practical steps to manage symptoms and clearer ways to handle daily pressures.

Marilyn uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people spot unhelpful thinking and try new behaviors. She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help clients clarify values and take actions that matter. Attachment-Based and Client-Centered approaches shape how she builds trust and focuses conversations around personal experience.

She has particular experience with caregiver stress, aging and health-related challenges, and emotional issues that arise in midlife. Marilyn also addresses addiction, relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, parenting stresses, and work or career transitions.

In sessions she balances practical coping strategies with deeper conversation about meaning and goals. People who come to her often want a steady partner to help them sort priorities, reduce overwhelm, and rebuild confidence. Her work aims to make change feel doable and focused on what the client values most.

Approaches and online care that fit your life

Marilyn commonly blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in online sessions. CBT helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, and stress. ACT focuses on values and committed action, helping clients accept difficult feelings while moving toward what matters most.

She sees finding the right approach as a collaborative process. The therapist and client work together to choose methods that match the client’s needs, goals, and preferences. That can mean using CBT tools one week and values-based ACT exercises the next, adjusting as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to offer flexibility. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging let clients share updates and get support between longer sessions. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy schedule and to keep continuity when life changes.