Barbara Pettibone , LCSW, CSW

Barbara Pettibone is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) practicing in Colorado. She brings 46 years of experience to sessions and focuses on women's issues alongside a broad range of life concerns. Barbara aims to make therapy straightforward and practical so people can tackle the problems that matter most to them.

She works with adults at different life stages, including seniors facing changes related to aging such as loss and shifting relationships. Her background includes work in inpatient psychiatric hospitals and outpatient settings, which shapes a steady and experienced approach in sessions.

Barbara centers the client in every step. She and the client identify the problem, set clear goals, and choose methods that fit the person's needs and preferences. She describes herself as honest, warm, and supportive and expects the person in therapy to be the driving force of change.

Her toolbox includes attachment-based ideas, client-centered listening, cognitive behavioral techniques, dialectical behavior skills, and emotionally-focused work. Barbara often blends these methods to match what will help best, including grief work, mindfulness, and behavioral strategies.

Sessions aim to address stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting concerns, self-esteem, career questions, and coping with life changes. Barbara also pays attention to concerns such as chronic illness, caregiver stress, body image, codependency, and aging-related challenges.

Therapeutic approaches for online care

Attachment-based work focuses on how past relationships shape current feelings and behaviors; it helps people understand patterns in close relationships and build safer ways of connecting. Client-centered therapy emphasizes a respectful, listening stance where the therapist follows the person's lead and helps them clarify goals and choices. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns, which can be useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes.

Finding the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and then try methods that fit each person's needs. That collaborative process helps adjust techniques over time until the best fit is found.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make scheduling easier and to match different situations. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed, live chat suits quick back-and-forth, and messaging lets people work through thoughts between meetings. These options give flexibility for busy days, caregiving responsibilities, or when in-person visits are difficult.