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Ruth Anthony-McClary

Ruth Anthony-McClary, LCSW

Therapist in New Jersey

Practical, respectful care for life changes

Continue with Ruth

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Experience

30+ years

Credentials

LCSW

Languages

English

Based in

New Jersey

  • 30 years experience
  • Focus on relationships
  • Mindfulness and CBT

About Ruth

Ruth Anthony-McClary is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, mood struggles, trauma, and intimacy-related issues. She writes treatment plans around each person's needs and focuses on respectful, sensitive care. Her direct style aims to make the first steps less daunting and more manageable.

With 30 years of clinical social work experience, Ruth draws on a range of therapy ideas to support practical change. In sessions she combines attention to attachment patterns with cognitive strategies and mindfulness skills. This mix is meant to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try different ways of responding in daily life.

Ruth works with a broad set of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief, relationship strain, parenting stress, and career challenges. She also supports people dealing with chronic illness, caregiving stress, adoption and foster care questions, and struggles around self-esteem and body image.

Her approach centers on listening first and adapting methods to each person's goals. Conversations are used to identify specific steps clients can try between sessions. Motivational techniques help people find what matters most and stay engaged in change.

Ruth practices in New Jersey and conducts sessions in English. She emphasizes a practical path forward that respects each person's story while offering tools to manage emotions and improve day-to-day functioning.

How Ruth’s Approaches Work Online

Ruth uses attachment-based ideas to look at how close relationships shape feelings and reactions; this helps when past relationship patterns make current connections or intimacy difficult. She also uses client-centered methods that focus on listening and shaping the work around what the person says they need, which helps people feel heard and understood. Cognitive behavioral therapy, another common part of her work, breaks down unhelpful thoughts and habits into manageable steps to test different behaviors and reduce distress.

Finding the right combination of methods is a collaborative process. Ruth will talk with the client about goals and try approaches that match those goals. She adjusts the plan as progress and preferences become clearer, so therapy stays practical and goal-focused.

Session logistics should be confirmed before booking since specific formats are not listed in the biography. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Talk with her during the matching steps to learn which session options are offered and to plan how therapy will fit into everyday life.

Areas of expertise

Also works with

Relationship issuesGriefIntimacy-related issuesParenting issuesAnger managementCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoping with life changesCoachingCompassion fatigue

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAntisocial personalityAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityBlended family issuesBody imageCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCodependencyCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDependent personalityDivorce and separationDomestic violenceEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesForgivenessHoardingInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesMood disordersMulticultural concernsNarcissismObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksParanoiaPersonality disordersPhobiasPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthPrejudice and discriminationSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSex addictionSexual dysfunctionSmoking / vaping cessationSocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Mindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapySomatic TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family SystemsSystemic Therapy

License details

LCSW · New Jersey
44SC04805000
NPI (National Provider Identifier)
1164504031

As listed on the therapist's professional profile. You can check these details with the relevant licensing board, professional body or registry.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Ruth commonly help with?

She helps people with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, relationship and intimacy-related issues, grief, parenting strain, and career challenges, among other concerns.

What is her general approach in sessions?

Ruth uses a client-centered style that listens first, then adapts techniques like attachment work, cognitive behavioral ideas, and mindfulness to support practical change.

How much clinical experience does she have?

She brings 30 years of clinical social work experience to her practice and has worked with a wide range of mood and stress-related issues.

What credential does she hold and where does she practice?

She is an LCSW licensed in New Jersey and practices with that credential within the state.

Which languages are supported for sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can international clients work with her?

She is not accepting international clients at this time and works with people located where she is licensed.

How does cost and payment work?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How do I begin working with her?

Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.

Some intimacy concerns have a physical side. If you notice pain or other physical symptoms, please speak with a doctor as well. Therapy can sit alongside medical care, not replace it.

Ruth Anthony-McClaryContinue with Ruth