Jennifer Richards , LCSW

Jennifer Richards is a licensed clinical social worker in North Carolina with seven years of experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, relationship concerns, depression, and issues related to LGBT identity. Jennifer emphasizes the strengths people bring and works alongside them as they make changes. Jennifer uses straightforward conversation to help people clarify what matters to them. She listens for patterns such as attachment worries, abandonment fears, or chronic feelings of shame, then helps clients try practical ways to shift those patterns. Sessions often include setting small goals, practicing new communication moves, and checking which steps feel useful in daily life. She also supports people dealing with body image struggles, chronic pain or illness, and financial stress that affects mood. For someone facing panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, or relationship transition like separation, Jennifer helps create a step-by-step plan to manage symptoms and rebuild confidence. Many clients come wanting greater self-compassion and clearer life purpose. Conversations touch on self-love, social isolation, and how to balance non-monogamous or polyamorous relationships when relevant. Jennifer helps people identify what they want and make realistic plans to get there. Her approach is collaborative and practical. She invites clients to name small experiments between sessions, then reviews what worked. This keeps progress focused and manageable while honoring each person’s expertise in their own life.

Evidence-based approaches for online therapy

Jennifer draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on skills and real-life changes. One approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms; it helps people manage panic, worry, and low mood by practicing different responses. Another approach centers on understanding attachment and relationship patterns, helping people notice how past losses or abandonment shape current connections and try new ways of communicating and relating. Finding the right way of working is part of the process, and she treats that as a team effort. Together the client and therapist review what feels helpful, try methods in session, and adjust plans based on the client’s goals and preferences. Online sessions offer practical flexibility. Video calls let the therapist and client connect face to face when a fuller conversation is helpful, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or text-based messaging work well for brief check-ins, homework review, and ongoing support between longer sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while keeping the work focused on concrete steps and skill building.