Mary Ruhland
Relationship-focused care with practical tools
LISW, CSW-PIP Iowa
- Experience
- 30 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Grief
- Approaches
- Gottman Method, Client-Centered Therapy
- Languages
- English
About Mary
Mary Ruhland uses a relationship-focused and evidence-informed approach that centers on how people connect and communicate. She brings the Gottman Method together with client-centered listening and skills-based strategies to help people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and traumatic reactions.
Background and approach
Mary is a Licensed Independent Social Worker - LISW and also holds a CSW-PIP credential. She draws on 30 years of practice in Iowa to offer straightforward help for urgent feelings and long-term change.
Her work often begins with listening to what feels hardest right now. She helps people name painful feelings, understand patterns that keep problems going, and try small changes to daily habits.
Sessions can include practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy for mood and panic, DBT skills for emotional regulation, and emotionally-focused ideas for improving closeness and communication. Mary also supports people who are coping with grief, addiction, eating concerns, or compassion fatigue.
She pays attention to attachment and abandonment issues, shame and guilt, and problems that show up as anger or impulsivity. Treatment plans are shaped around each person's priorities and paced to match their comfort level.
Therapy with Mary is collaborative and down-to-earth. She aims to help clients build skills, repair important connections, and find clearer direction in life.
Sessions are offered in English and take place through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
Approaches and online therapy options that fit your life
Mary often uses the Gottman Method to look at how people communicate and solve problems together; this approach can help when connection, trust, or recurring conflicts feel stuck. She also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes listening and responding to each person's experience so they feel understood and supported. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is used to spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that feed anxiety, panic, or low mood.Choosing the right approach is a team effort. Mary will talk with clients about their goals, try strategies that match those goals, and adjust the plan based on what helps. That collaborative process makes it easier to try new skills and see what fits your life.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexible options. Video calls are useful for a fuller conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits brief check-ins, and text messaging supports quick reflections between meetings. These formats make it possible to schedule therapy around work, caregiving, and other commitments while continuing steady progress.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Licensed in
Iowa, South Dakota
Languages
English