Name: Mary E. Johnson-Palazzolo

Degree: Master’s Degree, Clinical Social Work

License: Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

Specialties:

Mary works with children, adolescents and adults with a wide variety of issues including self-esteem, depression, anxiety, oppositional behavior, stress management, suicidal thoughts, self-injury, parenting issues, mood disorders, social and communication skills.

Biographical Information:

Mary graduated from Central Michigan University with a B.S. in Psychology in 1994 and received her Master’s in Clinical Social Work from the University of Michigan in 1997. Her schooling has helped her to understand the importance of looking both at the individual issues of the client she’s treating and the impact of the client’s environment. Mary’s clinical interventions are from a cognitive behavioral standpoint; focusing on thoughts, feelings and behaviors. She believes that by overcoming negative thoughts and behaviors, clients can make positive changes to the way they feel. While Mary maintains the utmost professionalism in her work, she has a very personal, approachable style that helps her to build strong rapport with her clients.

Mary’s biggest passion is working in the area of self-esteem, especially with teen girls. In her own life, Mary struggled with her confidence, especially in junior high and high school. After overcoming her own problems with self-esteem, Mary wanted to help others to be able to do the same. Mary runs a group for teen girls around this subject (Gaining the EDGE on Self-Esteem) and runs parenting workshops to give parents essentials tools to deal with this at home (Building Self-Esteem in Your Children).