IFSTherapists

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LCSW, CSW

Mary Lee Palmer, LCSW, CSW

  • Experience41 years
  • LocationGeorgia
  • Focus areasAddictions, Relationship, and Family
  • Therapy approachesInternal Family Systems and Client-Centered Therapy
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About Mary

Mary Lee Palmer is a licensed clinical social worker in Georgia who brings 41 years of practice to work with people facing addictions, relationship struggles, grief, mood disorders, and a wide range of life stresses.

Background and approach

Her approach weaves Internal Family Systems with client-centered listening and cognitive techniques to help clients explore inner conflict, shifting patterns, and practical coping skills. She frames therapy as collaborative and tailors plans to each person rather than relying on labels.

Her background includes extensive work in psychiatric hospital settings and independent practice, with roles that ranged from leading adolescent groups to directing child and adolescent services. That experience informs her comfort with complex presentations such as bipolar disorder, trauma and abuse, chronic illness, and challenging family dynamics across the lifespan.

Mary Lee brings a warm, interactive, and often playful presence to sessions while maintaining sensitivity and respect for individual differences. Clients who seek help for intimacy-related concerns, addiction, parenting and blended family issues, stress, anxiety, or life transitions will find a therapist who emphasizes practical strategies alongside deeper exploration.

She accepts international clients and uses a subscription-based session model that varies with location and therapist availability.

Integrating therapeutic approaches for online care



Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps people identify and relate to different parts of themselves, such as protective or vulnerable aspects, so they can reduce internal conflict and build self-leadership; it can be useful for trauma, relationship patterns, and emotional overwhelm. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, attentive listening, and a nonjudgmental therapeutic relationship to support exploration of personal goals and values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical tools to recognize and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can help with anxiety, depression, sleep struggles, and stress management.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work and will be decided collaboratively. The therapist will discuss your needs, goals, and preferences and adapt methods over time, blending insight-oriented and skills-based strategies to fit what helps you most.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and access from different locations. These options make it easier to schedule consistent work around daily life, maintain continuity during transitions, and choose the format that best fits a person’s comfort and needs.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with a broad range of concerns including addictions, relationship and family problems, grief, depression, anxiety, trauma and abuse, intimacy-related issues, sleeping problems, parenting challenges, and coping with life changes.
What is her therapeutic style and approach?
The approach is collaborative and warm, combining Internal Family Systems with client-centered listening and cognitive-behavioral techniques plus mindfulness and emotionally-focused ideas to balance insight and practical skill building.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has practiced for 41 years, including roles in psychiatric hospitals, group work with adolescents, and directing child and adolescent services, as well as years in independent practice.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is licensed as an LCSW with Georgia license GA LCSW CSW000534 and also holds the CSW designation. Her practice is based in Georgia.
Can sessions be held in languages other than English or with people abroad?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients according to the provided profile.
What session formats are available for therapy?
Therapy can be conducted via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How are fees and subscriptions handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are organized through a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin working together?
To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

AddictionsRelationship issuesFamily conflictsGriefIntimacy-related issues

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyLGBTTrauma and abuseSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoping with life changes

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAging and geriatric issuesBDSM, kink, and alternative sex cultureBlended family issuesCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDivorce and separationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMidlife crisisMood disordersNarcissismObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksParanoiaPersonality disordersPhobiasPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPost-traumatic stressProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSex addictionSexual assault and abuseSexual dysfunctionSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaTrichotillomaniaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

41+ years

Licensed

Georgia

Languages

English