Mari DeRienzo, LPC

Mari DeRienzo is a licensed professional counselor who helps people manage stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, grief, and intimacy-related concerns. She writes plainly and listens carefully so people can say what they need to say. Her approach aims to make the first step feel manageable for someone who is worried or uncertain.

With 39 years of experience, Mari draws on methods that focus on thoughts, behaviors, and personal strengths. Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. Clients work on practical skills they can use between meetings and on small steps that lead to bigger change.

She emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental atmosphere where people can speak openly about family problems, relationship strain, or issues around identity and sexuality. Mari also addresses concerns such as anger, low self-esteem, ADHD, substance problems, and the stresses that come from caregiving or first responder work.

Her practice blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Client-Centered techniques, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused work, and elements of Internal Family Systems to tailor treatment to each person's needs. That mix supports people who want clear strategies and those who prefer reflective exploration.

Mari practices in New Jersey and communicates in English. She accepts international clients and offers several session formats to fit different schedules and needs. Getting started begins with a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a first session.

Approaches that translate well to online care

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting so people feel heard and can explore their thoughts without judgment. This approach helps those who need space to sort through feelings and build self-understanding.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, concentrates on identifying thought patterns and testing them with practical behavioral experiments. It is useful for anxiety, stress, anger, and low self-esteem because it teaches specific skills people can practice between sessions.

Motivational Interviewing is a brief, collaborative method that helps people find internal reasons to change. It works well for issues like substance use, commitment concerns, and other situations where ambivalence is common.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will review goals, preferences, and day-to-day needs and then help select or combine methods that fit. This is a collaborative process tailored to what the person wants to achieve.

Online sessions are offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face interaction and visual cues, phone can be lower bandwidth, chat is useful for short check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between appointments. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, family, or caregiving schedules.