About Mary
Mary Buntin is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia with 40 years of experience. She focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, grief, depression, and major life changes. Mary pays attention to how people relate to themselves and aims to strengthen inner resources that help with daily coping.
She often supports people facing transitions into later life and those planning for retirement. Mary also works with caregivers who feel overwhelmed by long-term illness in a loved one, and she understands compassion fatigue from that perspective.
Background and approach
Her work reaches into chronic pain, illness, and disability as they affect mood and daily function. Mary emphasizes practical, hopeful steps people can use between sessions. She helps clients notice strengths, build self-compassion, and set realistic goals.
Conversations are collaborative and paced to each person’s needs. Over decades of practice she has learned to simplify options and focus on what helps most right now. The aim is clearer coping, fewer days dominated by worry or grief, and a steadier sense of self.
Mary describes therapy as a partnership that gives people tools to move toward a more satisfying life. She provides services in English from her Virginia practice and offers sessions through video calls, phone, live chat, or text messaging. To begin, people complete a brief matching questionnaire and schedule sessions based on availability.
How Mary’s approaches translate to online care
Mary uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques focused on practical change and emotional coping. One common approach she uses helps people identify personal strengths and build self-compassion; this involves guided conversation and exercises to notice positive qualities and use them when stress or shame appears. Another strand of her work focuses on coping skills for grief, loss, and chronic illness, teaching pacing, activity changes, and ways to manage strong emotions during difficult transitions.Finding the right method is a collaborative process. Mary will talk with each person about goals and preferences, then suggest approaches that fit those aims. Together they check what helps and adjust the plan so sessions stay useful and focused on everyday life needs.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text messaging. Video lets for face-to-face conversation; phone can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or a voice check-in is easier; live chat and text messaging allow shorter, more frequent check-ins or hands-on support between longer sessions. These formats increase flexibility and make it easier to fit therapy into a busy routine.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- Virginia
- Languages
- English