Mary Anne Ruane, LCSW

Mary Anne Ruane is a licensed clinical social worker with three decades of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, depression, and major life changes. She meets clients where they are and focuses on practical steps to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning. Her approach is straightforward and goal-oriented.

She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice patterns of thought and behavior that keep problems going, and then tests small changes to get different results. She also offers hypnotherapy and motivational interviewing when those methods fit a person’s goals. Sessions are shaped around what each person needs and prefers.

Her work includes support for relationship and family concerns, grief and trauma, eating and intimacy-related issues, and problems with anger or self-esteem. She has extensive experience with addictions and process-related behaviors, including drug and alcohol concerns. She also helps with phobias, panic, OCD-type worries, and workplace stress.

Mary Anne brings a calm, practical style to sessions. She helps people set clear, manageable goals and practices skills between meetings. The focus is on small, doable changes that build confidence and momentum.

A New Jersey clinician, she offers a collaborative process that balances structured therapy methods with attention to a person’s preferences. People who want hands-on strategies and steady guidance often find her style useful.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Mary Anne commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing in her online work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people spot thought and behavior patterns that keep problems going and then try small experiments to change those patterns; it is often used for anxiety, depression, phobias, and workplace stress. Motivational Interviewing focuses on resolving mixed feelings about change and building a person’s own reasons for taking steps forward, which can be helpful for addictions, ambivalence about behavior change, and improving commitment to goals.

Finding the right approach is a joint process. Mary Anne discusses goals and preferences with each person and adapts methods based on what is most helpful. She will work with clients to choose techniques and pace that match their needs and comfort.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexible ways to connect. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, phone sessions can fit a short break or require less bandwidth, and chat or messaging can be useful for quick check-ins or people who prefer writing. These options make it easier to fit consistent therapy into a busy life while still using structured approaches like CBT and Motivational Interviewing.