Mary Mcfarland-Norris
Compassionate LICSW blending listening and evidence-based care
LICSW Alabama
- Experience
- 20 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Family, Grief, Stress, Anxiety
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Languages
- English
About Mary
Mary Mcfarland-Norris is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) practicing in Alabama with twenty years of experience.
Background and approach
She offers telehealth services statewide and works with adults aged 18 to 100, drawing on cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy to address anxiety, stress, depression, and life transitions. Her clinical work emphasizes building a clear understanding of each client's situation and then creating practical steps toward change.
Her manner is calm, empathetic, and personable, and she prioritizes listening carefully before making recommendations.
Mary helps clients set realistic goals and track progress, guiding them through grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, eating and sleeping difficulties, anger, self-esteem issues, career shifts, bipolar disorder, compassion fatigue, hospice and end-of-life counseling, and multicultural or first responder and veteran-related matters.
She aims to help people navigate change and develop skills that support a more positive outlook. Initial sessions focus on building trust and understanding a client's feelings and history so that subsequent work can be tailored to individual needs.
Mary’s approach adapts to each person, combining talk-based exploration with evidence-informed techniques to support practical improvement and greater wellbeing.
Therapeutic approaches and how they work online
Mary frequently draws on cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy in online work. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thought and behavior patterns and building practical skills to change them, which can help with anxiety, depression, stress, and many day-to-day challenges. Acceptance and commitment therapy emphasizes accepting difficult feelings while clarifying personal values and committing to actions that align with those values, supporting work with life transitions, grief, and chronic stress.Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Mary approaches that choice collaboratively. She listens to each person's concerns, goals, and preferences and then recommends techniques or combinations of methods that fit those needs, adjusting the plan as progress is made.
Online sessions offer flexibility through video calls, phone appointments, live chat, and text-based messaging, making it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules or to connect from different locations within Alabama. These options allow for regular check-ins, skills practice between sessions, and varied communication styles so clients and licensed professionals can work together in ways that feel most comfortable and practical.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Licensed
Alabama
Languages
English