Mary Hargarten (LCSW)

My name is Mary Hargarten and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I am located in Milwaukee, WI. I have been doing therapy in person and online for 25 years. I have done therapy with individuals, couples and families. I have worked with clients around issues such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, relationship issues, family issues, domestic violence, self-esteem, sexual abuse, women’s issues, aging and issues at different life stages. It is my belief that we all have the resources we need inside of us to cope with the challenges that life throws at us. Sometime we just need a little help finding those coping skills and bringing them out. We all have strengths that we can develop and build on to help us cope better in day to day life. I believe that our family of origin can have a lot of influence on our ideas and beliefs so it is important to explore that influence and how it may be helping or hurting us in the present day. I believe in treating the whole person and in trying to find a good balance in all areas of our lives – physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual. My style is to be warm, caring, non-judgmental, compassionate and I have a good sense of humor. I try to step into your shoes so I can better understand exactly where you are coming from. You are the expert on your life and I am the expert on therapeutic strategies so we need to work together to see what will work best to get you where you want to go in your life. I think it takes tremendous courage to go to therapy and talk about your deepest feelings and fears. So just taking that step shows you are already moving in the right direction to shift your life in the way you want it to go. I use different types of therapy – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Bowen’s Family System’s therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps us look at our thoughts and beliefs and actions and how they are working positively or negatively for us. Solution Focused Therapy is about focusing on one issue at a time and setting goals to solve the problem. Motivational Interviewing is about finding out what motivates you to make changes in your behaviors. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy teaches how to accept the things we cannot change and commit to changing the things we can. It also teaches Mindfulness which is a very useful tool in everyday life. Bowen’s Family System Therapy talks about how we each need to “individuate” from our families by developing our own values and beliefs as an individual. I truly look forward to working with you. I love doing this work and being reminded daily of the strength of the human spirit.