- Behavioral-Cognitive approach
- Neurodiversity focus
- Guilt and shame work
About Merry
Merry McKinnon is a California-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 33 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, depression, and ADHD, and lists guilt and shame among areas she addresses.
She has long experience with neurodiversity. Merry has helped people who identify with high-functioning Autism Spectrum traits, Asperger Syndrome, non-verbal learning disorder, and auditory processing differences. She also supports those who face isolation, social anxiety, and struggles with motivation or workplace and academic challenges.
Merry describes her work as relational. She uses a behavioral-cognitive lens while focusing on the therapeutic relationship. In practice that means building trust, noticing patterns of thought and behavior, and working together to reveal strengths while examining current self-concepts.
Sessions often look like talking through difficult feelings, testing new ways of responding, and practicing small behavioral steps between meetings. She pays attention to how ADHD and learning differences affect daily organization, social interaction, and self-worth.
Merry emphasizes that discovering abilities and new ways of coping can happen at any stage of life. Her approach aims to help people recognize strengths and reduce the habits and patterns that increase shame, guilt, or chronic anxiety.
People coming to her for help with grief or seasonal mood shifts will find a clinician who pairs practical cognitive strategies with relational focus. Those unsure where to start are invited to identify current struggles and set simple, achievable goals together.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online work
She commonly uses behavioral-cognitive techniques, which involve identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing practical behavioral changes. This approach is useful for anxiety, depression, and patterns that keep guilt or shame active.She also emphasizes relational work online, focusing on building a trusting connection and using that relationship to explore self-concepts and strengths. That relational focus helps when clients feel stuck by shame, isolation, or low self-worth.
Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. The therapist works with each person to decide which approaches fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That collaborative decision can adjust over time as progress and challenges become clearer.
The original biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm current online options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove the need to travel. Many people find that scheduled remote sessions help them maintain consistency while working on guilt, shame, and daily coping skills.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
33+ years
Listed in
California
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she work with?
Merry works with stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, depression, and ADHD, and also lists guilt and shame among her focus areas.
How would she approach shame or guilt in sessions?
She uses a relational stance with a behavioral-cognitive lens, helping clients notice thought patterns, try new responses, and build on strengths while examining self-concepts.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 33 years of professional work experience as a clinician in California.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an LMFT licensed in California and practices professionally in that state.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or work internationally?
Sessions are offered in English and she does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
The biography does not list specific session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.