About Marikay
Marikay Vander Ven is an Ohio-based licensed clinician with 21 years of experience. She helps people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, family conflict, or the aftereffects of trauma and abuse. She aims to make starting therapy feel manageable and supportive for people taking that first step.
Her style centers on creating an open, nonjudgmental space where clients can talk about difficult feelings. Conversations focus on what is happening now and on practical steps that fit each person’s life.
Background and approach
She listens for patterns related to attachment, abandonment, guilt, shame, and control, then helps clients try new ways of coping. Marikay also helps people struggling with life changes and identity issues. That includes midlife concerns, men's issues, loneliness, and finding purpose.
She works with caregivers facing stress and people dealing with chronic illness, pain, or body-image worries. Sessions often address communication problems, impulsivity, and fallout from divorce or separation. Forgiveness and rebuilding trust are also topics she supports people through.
The approach is collaborative - the client’s goals guide what happens in sessions. Marikay holds the credential LPCC, which indicates licensure in Ohio. She offers help in English and provides several online formats so people can choose what fits their schedule and needs.
Evidence-based approaches and online care
Marikay uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques focused on practical change and emotional processing. One approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new, more balanced ways of thinking to reduce anxiety and low mood; this helps with stress, worry, and self-critical thinking. Another approach works with patterns in relationships and attachment, helping people recognize how early experiences shape how they relate now and practice safer, clearer ways of communicating and connecting.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. She will talk with each person about their goals, strengths, and life demands, then recommend techniques that fit those needs. Together they check progress and adjust the plan as needed so therapy stays relevant and useful.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy flexible. Video calls allow more face-to-face interaction, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options help people fit care around work, caregiving, or health limitations while keeping the focus on practical steps and emotional healing.
Questions people ask
What kinds of concerns does Marikay help with?
How would you describe her therapeutic approach?
What is her background and experience?
Where is she licensed and based?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How do fees and payment work?
How do I begin working with her?
What this counselor works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Experience
- 21 years
- Licensed
- Ohio
- Languages
- English