Practitioner record · Checked 9 Oct 2026

Mary Sanders has been in practice 17 years and is licensed in Washington. Mary lists relationship issues, family conflicts and trauma and abuse among 15 subjects on the BetterHelp roster.

Everything below is either quoted from Mary's own BetterHelp listing, taken from public licensing records, or written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such. Nothing here is an availability promise, a review, or a rating.

17years in practice
15subjects listed
7approaches listed

01 · Who Mary works with

Mary works with relationship issues, family conflicts and trauma and abuse

Mary lists 5 specialisms and 10 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Mary chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

Specialisms
  • Relationship issues
  • Family conflicts
  • Trauma and abuse
  • Grief
  • Coping with life changes
Also experienced with
  • Abandonment
  • Attachment issues
  • Communication problems
  • Divorce and separation
  • Guilt and shame
  • Isolation / loneliness
  • Life purpose
  • Midlife crisis
  • Post-traumatic stress
  • Social anxiety and phobia

02 · In Mary's own words

What Mary says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am licensed in Washington with 17 years of professional work experience in both private practice and community health settings. I have experience in helping clients with relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, & coping with grief and loss. My background is in the arts as well as mental health care and I have advanced training in creative arts therapies, specifically drama therapy. I work with all ages in individual and family modalities and have 20 years of experience in using theatre and expressive arts as a healing modality. I work with my clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment.

Working in community mental health, I have had the privilege to work with many people affected by trauma. In treating trauma, I primarily use EMDR-informed approaches, TFCBT, and Creative Arts therapies, with much care taken to provide a trauma-informed, safe space for clients. Other modalities that I often utilize include role theory, sociometry, solution-focused therapy (SFT), and motivational interviewing.

I am qualified to provide assessment and basic recommendations for nutritional and Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) approaches to target and treat mental health issues holistically. Taking the first step to seeking a more fulfilling and happier life takes courage. I am here to support you in that process!

Mary Sanders, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Mary works

The 7 approaches Mary lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Mary lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Mary's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Mary runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy
Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.
Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian
The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.
Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT
Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.
Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT
Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.
Motivational InterviewingMI
A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Works on the assumption that current patterns - in relationships, at work, in how you treat yourself - have a history, and that seeing the history loosens the pattern. Less structured than CBT, usually longer, and more interested in what comes up unbidden than in a weekly agenda.
Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT
Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Mary practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Mary's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

  1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

    BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Mary at this point.

  2. Naming Mary specifically

    BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Mary is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Mary.

  3. If the caseload is full

    You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

  4. The first conversation

    A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

  5. If the fit is wrong

    Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Mary

Built from what Mary actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Mary's - Mary has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

  • “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

    Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

  • “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

    Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

  • “With 17 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

    Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

  • “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

    On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential
LMHC
Licensed in
Washington
Licence
WA LMHC LH60462192
Licence number
LH60462192
Licence expires
20 Sep 2027
NPI
1184063208
Years in practice
17
Gender
Female
Languages
English
International clients
Not accepted
Listed since
18 Jun 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Mary's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Mary. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

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