Therapist profile
Mary McLaggan, LPC, LMHC
Iowa
Licensed counselor - Anger and relationships
Continue with MaryKey details
- CredentialsLPC, LMHC
- LicenseLPC, Texas / 19406; LMHC, Iowa / 121856
- NPI1649449760
- Experience20 years
- LanguagesEnglish, Spanish
- LocationIowa
About
- CBT methods
- DBT skills
- Attachment focus
About Mary
Mary McLaggan is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with 20 years of experience. She practices in Iowa and offers therapy in English and Spanish. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, relationship strain, grief, parenting pressures, and anger among other concerns.
Her approach is straightforward and practical. She listens to what is happening day to day, helps identify patterns, and works with clients to try different skills. Sessions focus on concrete tools as well as understanding how past attachment and relationship experiences shape current reactions.
Mary uses several clinical approaches to guide the work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people recognize and change unhelpful thinking and behavior. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers skills for regulating emotions and improving how people respond in heated moments. Attachment-Based and Client-Centered ideas inform how she explores relationship patterns and builds collaborative goals.
She adapts conversations and interventions to the individual’s needs and preferences. That can mean practicing new responses in session, rehearsing difficult conversations, or developing breathing and grounding steps for when anger rises. The focus is on practical steps that can be tried between sessions.
Mary’s background includes two decades of client work across a range of concerns such as trauma, intimacy issues, career stress, and parenting strain. She aims to help adults strengthen coping skills, reduce reactive responses, and improve communication in daily life.
How sessions work
How Mary applies core approaches in online sessions
Mary commonly draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy in her work. CBT focuses on noticing thought patterns and testing them with practical experiments to change how people feel and act. This can help with anger that stems from quick negative assumptions or unhelpful thinking. DBT provides concrete emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills, which are useful for managing sudden spikes in anger and for responding differently in tense moments.She also uses Attachment-Based and Client-Centered perspectives to understand relationship patterns and to shape collaborative goals. Together these approaches help clarify why certain situations trigger strong reactions and which skills to try first. Finding the right mix of techniques is part of the work; Mary will help clients choose approaches based on their needs, goals, and personal preferences rather than prescribing one fixed method.
Confirm the currently offered session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific options. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a work break, reduce travel time, or keep sessions shorter when that suits daily life. Many people appreciate being able to practice skills between meetings and then review what worked in the next session, which helps translate in-session learning into real-world change.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
Texas, Iowa
Languages
English, Spanish
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of anger issues does she address?
She works with adults who snap at loved ones, feel rising resentment, struggle with anger at work, or are affected by someone else’s anger.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her style is practical and collaborative, combining talk with skill practice and problem-solving geared to everyday life.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 20 years of professional experience working with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, and trauma.
What credentials and location apply?
She holds LPC and LMHC credentials and practices in Iowa with license designations TX LPC and IA LMHC noted in her background.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session options before booking since the biography does not list specific session formats.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is unsafe, use the crisis numbers.