Mary Lee Palmer, LCSW, CSW

Mary Lee Palmer is a licensed clinical social worker with 41 years of experience. She uses a warm, interactive style and aims to create a respectful space for people facing relationship struggles, mood concerns, addiction, grief, and stress. She emphasizes practical skills and steady support for parents, partners, and individuals coping with big life changes.

Her work often draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. She also uses client-centered ideas to listen deeply and prioritize each person's goals. Emotion-focused elements are used when feelings and attachment patterns are key to relationship concerns.

Mary Lee has worked in psychiatric hospitals and private practice, including roles leading child and adolescent groups and directing child and adolescent services in Atlanta. That background informs her comfort with a wide age range and with complex concerns such as bipolar disorder, chronic conditions, and trauma. She has long experience addressing issues around intimacy, infidelity, and addiction.

In sessions she keeps things practical and often gently playful while staying focused on progress. She plans treatment jointly with clients and adapts methods to match each person's needs. Her approach favors clear skills people can use between meetings to manage sleep, anxiety, anger, or relationship conflict.

People who choose to work with her can expect steady guidance and straightforward strategies. She welcomes international clients and offers a variety of online session formats for flexibility.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Mary Lee often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify thoughts that keep them stuck and to practice different behaviors. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep issues, addiction-related patterns, and managing day-to-day stress.

She also draws on client-centered therapy, which centers the person's goals and experience. That approach emphasizes listening, empathy, and adapting pace and focus to what the person needs in the moment.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as progress unfolds. This means techniques may shift between thought-focused work, emotion processing, and mindfulness exercises depending on what helps most.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skill demonstrations and emotional work. Phone sessions are useful for shorter check-ins or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text-based messaging can support ongoing check-ins, brief coping strategies, or when writing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep momentum between meetings.