Merry McKinnon

Merry McKinnon is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 33 years of professional experience in California. She focuses on helping people who notice anxiety, low mood, or struggles with attention and organization. Merry often works with adults who suspect neurodiversity is affecting their daily life and goals. Her background includes long work with ADHD and learning differences. She also has experience with high-functioning autism spectrum presentations, non-verbal learning differences, and auditory processing challenges. Many people come to her for help with depression, social anxiety, isolation, grief, low self-esteem, and motivation problems. Merry emphasizes a relational way of working. She uses a behavioral-cognitive lens to build a trusting connection and then looks at thoughts and behaviors that get in the way. Sessions focus on discovering personal strengths and testing small changes that can make daily life easier. She speaks plainly and keeps goals practical. Conversations may include ways to manage attention, organize tasks, improve communication, and reduce avoidance or shame. Merry encourages realistic steps toward work, school, or social goals while examining how self-image and past losses influence current patterns. Clients who want steady, experienced guidance through neurodiversity-related challenges and mood or anxiety issues may find her approach a good fit. She frames progress as a gradual process and partners with people to uncover strengths and build sustainable routines.

Approaches for neurodiversity and mood concerns online

Behavioral-cognitive work focuses on connecting thoughts, feelings, and everyday actions. It helps people spot unhelpful thinking patterns and try small behavioral experiments to reduce anxiety, lift mood, and improve task follow-through. This approach can be useful for attention, organization, and low motivation.

Merry also emphasizes relational work in sessions. That means building a steady, respectful connection first, then using that relationship to explore self-image, shame, and how past losses affect current behavior. This can help people feel understood while testing new ways of relating and coping.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Merry will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or has not helped before. Together they decide which techniques to try and adjust the plan as needs change.

Confirm current session options before booking to learn which formats are offered. Online therapy can make scheduling easier and help fit sessions into a busy day. It can also reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let people work from a familiar environment while focusing on real-life routines and challenges.