Frances Merz

Frances Merz is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in New Jersey with 19 years of clinical experience. She works with people who want to make changes in their lives - to solve a problem, improve a situation, or better understand their circumstances. Her listed concerns include stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, career questions, coping with life changes, and issues tied to grief, trauma, sleep, and parenting. She also notes life purpose, seasonal affective disorder, social anxiety, young adult issues, ADHD, bipolar, and compassion fatigue among her focus areas.

Frances uses techniques drawn from different theoretical approaches and adapts them to each person’s needs and strengths. She emphasizes practical work in sessions rather than one fixed method. That can mean using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools to help change patterns of thinking and behavior or applying brief solution-focused strategies to set goals and take small steps forward.

She has experience supporting people through transitions such as college life, career shifts, medical decisions like weight loss surgery, and the challenges of navigating healthcare systems. Frances can help brainstorm questions for medical appointments and coach practical steps for dealing with ongoing health concerns.

Counseling with Frances is a collaborative process that asks for effort from the client as well as the counselor. She highlights flexibility in choosing approaches so work in sessions fits the individual. She notes she does not provide marriage or relationship counseling or online care for serious mental illness.

Her practice also includes helping people who are considering or recovering from weight loss surgery, and those managing seasonal mood changes. Sessions are conducted in English and reflect her long experience in clinical counseling.

How her approaches shape online sessions

Frances commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy in her work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and behaviors affect feelings and uses practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns. It can help with anxiety, sleep problems, low self-esteem, and depressive symptoms.

Solution-Focused Therapy emphasizes small, concrete steps and clear goal-setting. It is useful when someone wants to resolve a specific problem, make a decision, or test a new way of handling a situation in daily life.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Frances will discuss your needs, goals, and preferences and then try methods that seem most helpful. She expects the client to work alongside her and adjusts techniques based on what produces progress.

If you prefer online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, keep brief check-ins without travel, and use worksheets or homework between meetings. Therapists and licensed professionals often find these formats help maintain momentum while you try changes in real life.