Ruth Vivian , LCSW

Ruth Vivian is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, and trauma. She practices in Delaware and offers therapy that centers on practical steps and emotional understanding. Ruth aims to help clients find the resources they already have and put them to work in daily life.

Ruth draws on several approaches to tailor care to each person. She uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach emotion regulation and coping skills. She also uses Trauma-Focused Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing when past events keep causing pain. These methods are chosen to match what each person needs to feel safer and more capable.

Her work addresses relationship and intimacy issues, grief, self-esteem, body image, and challenges linked to parenting, career, or chronic illness. She also supports people facing attachment wounds, abandonment, codependency, and addiction. Ruth helps LGBT clients and those navigating blended family dynamics without assuming any single path fits everyone.

Ruth has five years of clinical experience as an LCSW. She combines skill with a straightforward, empathic style. In sessions she helps people break problems down into manageable steps and practices that can be used between appointments.

People start by saying what matters most to them. Ruth listens, offers options, and helps design a plan that fits daily life. She works collaboratively so progress matches each person’s pace and goals.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Ruth uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach practical skills for managing intense emotions, improving relationships, and reducing risky behaviors. DBT sessions often include learning and practicing coping strategies that can be applied between meetings.

She also draws on EMDR and Trauma-Focused Therapy to address memories and reactions tied to past events. These approaches involve processing upsetting memories and reducing their emotional charge so daily life becomes easier to manage.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Ruth will discuss goals, preferences, and the problems that matter most, then suggest which methods to try first. Decisions are collaborative and can be adjusted as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face conversation and shared worksheets, phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit into a break at work, chat or text can be useful for brief check-ins or when writing feels easier. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep practicing skills between sessions.