Mary Alfinito, LCSW-R

Mary Alfinito is a licensed clinical social worker with four decades of experience in New York. She helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD, trauma, and issues related to LGBT identity. She also supports concerns around self-esteem, career strain, and adjusting to life changes.

Mary aims for a straightforward, calm approach in sessions. She encourages people to talk through thoughts and everyday habits and to notice how those patterns affect mood and behavior. Sessions focus on practical coping skills, clearer thinking, and small changes that add up over time.

Her work draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy ideas to address thinking patterns and emotional regulation. She also uses Trauma-Focused Therapy when past events continue to interfere with daily life. The emphasis is on finding what helps each person in real situations.

Mary has worked with people across many stages of life and with a wide range of challenges. Her style is accepting and nonjudgmental, with an aim to make the therapy process understandable and manageable. She invites questions and helps set goals that fit a person’s day-to-day needs.

If someone is considering therapy, Mary asks them to start with a short matching questionnaire and then schedule according to availability. She notes that therapy is often a step-by-step process and she supports each person at their own pace.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Mary commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trauma-Focused Therapy in her work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and actions connect and teaches ways to shift unhelpful thinking and behavior. Trauma-Focused Therapy attends to the impact of past events, helping people process memories and reduce their influence on day-to-day functioning.

Choosing the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, and then try methods together to see what helps. That collaboration helps tailor sessions to each person’s needs.

Confirm the current session options before booking, since formats are not specified in the profile. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins when needed, or making it simpler to schedule around work or caregiving. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and trauma-focused techniques for remote work, and sessions aim to build practical skills people can use right away.