Mary Kallenbach , LCMHC

Mary Kallenbach is a licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor practicing in North Carolina, licensed under NC LCMHC S3220. She earned a Master of Counseling from Webster University in 1997 and a B.F.A. from the University of Denver in 1974, and she has worked in the counseling field since 1995.

Her early clinical roles included counseling on an adult women’s inpatient psychiatric unit, where she worked with eating disorders, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, and PTSD. She has also served in county mental health settings, school-based adolescent services, and residential healing programs. From 2005 to 2018 she provided psychotherapy to adults with serious and persistent mental illness in farm and community treatment programs.

Since 1998 she has maintained a small private practice in Mill Spring, North Carolina, offering individual, family, couples, and group work. Her approach draws on a broad set of evidence-informed methods, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), prolonged exposure, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), solution-focused techniques, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), animal-assisted therapy, and behavior therapy. These methods have been applied to a wide range of concerns such as stress, anxiety, trauma, mood disorders, relationship difficulties, addictions, and life transitions.

Kallenbach emphasizes a collaborative, meet-you-where-you-are style of care that focuses on building skills, solving problems, and strengthening relationships over time.

Integrating Evidence-Informed Approaches into Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and take action toward a meaningful life while learning to make space for difficult thoughts and feelings. It is often used for anxiety, stress, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and adjusting unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce distress and improve functioning; it is commonly used for depression, anxiety, and coping with daily challenges. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma-focused approach that supports processing distressing memories and reducing their emotional intensity, often used when past events continue to affect present-day well-being.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and the therapist works collaboratively with each person to determine the best fit based on their needs, goals, and preferences. Techniques may be combined or adapted over time as progress is reviewed.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can take place by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging - which makes it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, maintain continuity of care, and access licensed professionals from different locations. These options allow therapists to deliver evidence-informed methods in formats that suit each person’s schedule and comfort level.