Maria Daly, LCSW

Maria Daly is a licensed clinical social worker based in Illinois who brings 12 years of experience supporting adults through grief, depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship challenges, and LGBTQ issues. As an LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker - she combines clinical training with practical skills to help clients navigate life transitions, aging concerns, and complex family dynamics.

Her approach is integrative, collaborative, and patient, focusing on helping people understand why they experience emotional pain and building on that insight to promote psychological growth. Maria offers a nonjudgmental space where adults can explore past and present experiences, learn skills, and work toward goals such as healing, acceptance, improved functioning, or stronger relationships.

Maria works with a wide range of concerns including stress, intimacy-related issues, self-esteem, trauma and abuse, codependency, and end-of-life or hospice-related challenges. She also addresses multicultural and identity-related topics like gender dysphoria, polyamory and non-monogamous relationship dynamics, and the specific needs of older adults. Clients collaborate with her to identify priorities, develop coping strategies, and build greater mastery over their lives while receiving steady support and encouragement along the way.

Evidence-Informed Approaches and Online Care

Maria Daly uses several evidence-informed approaches tailored to each person. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify their values, accept difficult emotions, and take actions that align with a meaningful life - it can be useful for stress, anxiety, and coping with life changes. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns in close relationships and early bonds, helping clients improve trust, intimacy, and relationship functioning when attachment wounds influence present-day behavior. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, addresses the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by teaching practical skills to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and to change unhelpful patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Maria collaborates with each client to assess needs, preferences, and goals, and together they decide which methods to emphasize. This collaborative process helps tailor treatment to what will work best for the individual.

Online therapy in Maria's practice is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for busy schedules, travel, or limited local options. These options make it easier to attend regular sessions, maintain continuity of care, and access licensed professionals from different locations.