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CR Portrait of Carleen Riley-Mercado
Online therapist

Carleen Riley-Mercado

Therapist focused on practical change

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Credentials
LMSW, LSCSW
Experience
10 years
Licensed in
Michigan, Kansas
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Carleen

Carleen Riley-Mercado is a licensed social worker who helps people handle stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and parenting concerns. She brings ten years of clinical experience and centers the conversation on what matters to each person. Her work often addresses self-esteem, grief, intimacy concerns, and life changes that feel overwhelming.

Carleen approaches therapy with attention to the whole person. She honors clients' values and beliefs, including religious and non-religious perspectives and LGBTQ+ identities.

Background and approach

Sessions focus on building understanding, reducing shame, and finding clearer ways to move forward. Her style is practical and collaborative. Carleen uses tools from evidence-informed methods to help people notice patterns, test new behaviors, and practice skills between sessions.

She also helps with setting boundaries, improving communication, and coping with caregiver stress or workplace strain. People meet her in Kansas where she provides care as an LMSW and LSCSW. She aims to create a respectful space that supports honest conversation and steady progress at the client’s pace.

Carleen often works with issues tied to relationships and family life, like blended family concerns, attachment questions, codependency, and divorce or separation. She also offers help for eating and sleep troubles, bipolar-related challenges, ADHD, and substance use concerns. Her overall goal is straightforward: help people feel less stuck, more connected to what matters, and better able to handle daily demands.

The focus is on small, achievable steps toward more manageable days.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is about clarifying what matters to you and taking small actions that match those values. It helps when avoidance or worry keeps someone stuck. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and offers practical exercises to test and change unhelpful patterns. It’s often used for anxiety, depression, and sleep or eating concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Carleen collaborates with each person to figure out which methods fit their goals and comfort level. She adjusts techniques based on what you need and what helps you make steady progress.

If you’re considering online therapy, confirm the available session formats before booking. Many people appreciate online options because they make it easier to fit therapy into busy days, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Online sessions can support ongoing skills practice, homework review, and problem-solving between appointments. Licensed professionals can offer these benefits while tailoring pacing and tools to each client’s life and schedule.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of problems does she help with?
She supports people coping with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, parenting concerns, self-esteem, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, and many related areas listed in her profile.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach is collaborative and practical, focusing on connection and small steps. Sessions emphasize skills, values, and reducing shame while honoring each person’s background.
How much experience does she have?
She has ten years of clinical experience working with a variety of concerns and life transitions.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds the credentials LMSW and LSCSW and practices in Kansas.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the country work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies by location and uses a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience
10 years
Licensed
Michigan, Kansas
Languages
English

Next step

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