Marlene Merchant , LMHC

Marlene Merchant is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) based in New York. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing to help people with everyday thinking and habit patterns. Her warm, straightforward style aims to make therapy feel manageable, especially for those new to the process.

Marlene has ten years of experience and focuses on common life stresses. She helps people facing anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction, eating and body image concerns, and sleep difficulties. Sessions also address relationship strain, parenting stress, grief, self-esteem, and career questions.

In sessions she breaks down unhelpful thought patterns and daily habits into small, practical steps. She teaches mindfulness skills to reduce reactivity and uses motivational interviewing to support change when people feel stuck. The goal is clearer thinking and routines that fit everyday life.

Marlene pays attention to how life events shape coping. She supports people working through family problems, infidelity, isolation, obsessive behaviors, guilt, and forgiveness. She also helps with career transitions, life purpose questions, and compassion fatigue.

Her approach is collaborative and goal-focused. People are invited to set realistic steps and track progress over time. Marlene encourages building self-care practices that help reduce stress and sustain gains between sessions.

How these approaches guide online work

CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, focuses on noticing and changing thought patterns and daily routines that keep problems going. It is often used for anxiety, depression, and habit-related issues by turning big problems into small actionable steps.

Mindfulness Therapy helps people become more aware of their moment-to-moment experience. It teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve sleep and emotional balance.

Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative way to talk about change. It helps people resolve mixed feelings and find their own reasons to try new behaviors, which supports work on addiction, eating issues, or other habits.

Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose approaches that match their goals, preferences, and day-to-day life. That choice can be adjusted as therapy progresses.

The practical benefits of online therapy include fitting sessions into busy schedules and reducing travel time. Because the original profile did not list specific session formats, confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to keep appointments during work breaks, manage shorter check-ins when needed, or avoid needing to be on camera for every session depending on the available formats.