Olayinka "Mary" Akeju, LPC

Olayinka "Mary" Akeju is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in New Jersey with 17 years of clinical experience. She focuses on practical, person-centered care that helps people manage stress, anxiety, relationship struggles, and major life changes.

Mary uses clear, direct conversation and collaborative problem solving to help clients find what works for them. Sessions emphasize building everyday skills for emotional regulation, managing grief, coping with trauma, and improving communication. She also helps people address issues such as addiction, sleep and eating concerns, and caregiving stress.

Her approach draws on several evidence-informed methods, including cognitive behavioral tools, acceptance and commitment concepts, attachment-based thinking, and dialectical behavior strategies. These give clients concrete ways to notice unhelpful patterns, try new behaviors, and stay connected to personal values. She works in a client-centered way, listening first and tailoring methods to each person’s needs.

Mary pays attention to background and context, including adoption and foster care histories, attachment difficulties, neurodiversity such as autism, and challenges tied to aging and caregiving. She also supports people navigating identity questions, LGBT concerns, and career stress.

Starting therapy begins with a short matching questionnaire and then scheduling based on therapist availability. The subscription model for sessions can be canceled at any time, and fees vary by location and availability.

How Mary’s Approaches Translate to Online Therapy

Mary uses cognitive behavioral techniques to help people identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; this approach is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep and eating concerns, and mood regulation.

She also draws on attachment-based ideas that look at patterns in close relationships and how early connections shape current trust, communication, and intimacy issues.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Mary will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then recommend or combine methods that fit their situation. That collaborative decision-making helps shape a plan that feels practical and doable.

Confirm the exact online session options before booking because the biography does not list specific formats. Many people find virtual sessions helpful for fitting therapy into busy days, reducing travel time, and making it easier to keep regular check-ins. Other benefits can include having shorter check-ins by phone when time is tight, or using video when visual cues are helpful for relationship or attachment work. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises, behavior experiments, and skills coaching to an online setting to support progress without promising specific outcomes.