Marilyn Traynor, LCSW
Calm, experienced guidance for everyday parenting challenges
Book with Marilyn- Years in practice
- 40
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Illinois
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Grief
- Focus
- Self esteem
About Marilyn
Marilyn Traynor is a licensed clinical social worker with 40 years of practice in Illinois. She helps adults who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, grief, or big life changes. Her work is grounded in steady, empathic support aimed at practical change and emotional relief.
She often guides people through parenting challenges and relationship strains, and she addresses intimacy-related issues, addictions, and trauma. Sessions focus on clear steps clients can try between meetings, and on building skills for handling everyday pressures.
Background and approach
Marilyn pays attention to how health problems and caregiving demands affect emotions and routines. Her background includes long experience with mood disorders and chronic stress, and she regularly works with people facing career transitions, burnout, and compassion fatigue. She also supports those navigating divorce, blended family questions, and communication or commitment worries.
Practical problem solving and emotional understanding are both part of her method. Marilyn uses a mix of therapeutic approaches tailored to each person’s needs. She draws from cognitive-behavioral ideas to change unhelpful thinking, from attachment-focused perspectives to untangle relationship patterns, and from acceptance-based approaches to manage painful feelings.
Sessions are conversational and goal-focused, with homework when it helps. Clients who choose Marilyn can expect a calm, experienced presence and straightforward guidance. She emphasizes collaboration - setting clear goals, tracking progress, and adjusting methods as life changes unfold.
What Marilyn works with
Everything Marilyn lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Marilyn helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Intimacy-related issues
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Marilyn lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without being driven by them, and it supports building a life based on personal values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety and depression. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and helps people change ways of relating that no longer serve them.Choosing the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they try a path for a few sessions, track how it feels, and adjust the plan based on real progress and client feedback.
Online therapy with Marilyn can use video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video works well for deeper conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging allow brief updates, reflection between sessions, and flexible scheduling. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving, and health challenges while keeping the therapeutic focus intact.
Questions people ask about Marilyn
What concerns does Marilyn commonly address?
She helps with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, parenting concerns, relationship and intimacy issues, addictions, trauma, and coping with life changes.
What is Marilyn's therapeutic style like?
Her sessions are conversational and goal-focused, blending practical skills with emotional exploration. She offers homework and concrete tools between meetings when useful.
How much clinical experience does she have?
Marilyn brings 40 years of clinical experience working with adults on a wide range of emotional and life challenges.
What credentials and location are on record?
She is an LCSW licensed in Illinois and practices from that state.
Which languages and international clients are supported?
Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients.
What session formats are available?
Work can be done via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on client preference.
How does pricing work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and subscription details; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What is the process to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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