Jeanne Stearns , LCSW-R

Jeanne Stearns is a licensed clinical social worker with 20 years of experience helping people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and relationship difficulties. She focuses on practical support and gentle guidance for those who want clearer coping tools and steadier day-to-day functioning. Jeanne works with people who are navigating life changes and emotional pain and who want a respectful, listening space to talk things through.

Her approach begins by treating each person as the expert on their life. She listens for strengths, values, and what a person wants to keep or change. From there she blends goal-focused techniques with conversations that reframe personal stories and choices. This mix helps people move from feeling stuck to taking realistic next steps.

Jeanne draws on methods like client-centered work and cognitive behavioral strategies to identify unhelpful patterns and build new skills. She also uses motivational interviewing to strengthen commitment to change and narrative ideas to rework how life events are understood. These tools are used in simple, practical ways during sessions.

Over two decades in New York settings have given her experience with many concerns including trauma and abuse, parenting stress, intimacy-related issues, mood disorders, and addictions. She aims to make sessions useful, straightforward, and respectful of each person’s pace and priorities.

People meet with Jeanne to find clear coping plans, examine relationship patterns, address addictive behaviors, and work through grief or life transitions. Her style is supportive, down-to-earth, and focused on helping clients take manageable steps toward goals.

Approaches you can use online

Client-centered work focuses on listening and building on a person's strengths to help them decide what matters most and what steps feel doable; it suits people wanting a supportive space to make sense of problems. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and teaches concrete skills to change them; it's often helpful for anxiety, low mood, and managing day-to-day stressors. Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change and boosts commitment when facing addictions or mixed feelings about change.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will start by hearing your goals and trying methods that match your needs. Over time techniques are adjusted based on what helps most, so the plan evolves in collaboration with the client.

Online formats offer practical flexibility for ongoing work. Video calls let people use visual cues and have fuller conversations. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth or a quieter audio check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging support brief check-ins, progress updates, or times when typing feels easier than speaking. These options make it easier to keep momentum while fitting therapy into a busy life.