Valarie Johnson , LICSW

Valarie Johnson is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with 30 years of counseling experience. She draws on long practice in varied settings to help people facing stress, anxiety, trauma, grief, depression, and life changes. Her work often addresses women's issues and related concerns such as self-esteem and compassion fatigue.

She takes a kind but direct approach in sessions. She listens closely, offers practical steps, and also challenges clients when growth requires pushing past comfort. Sessions focus on clear goals and small, manageable changes that add up over time.

Her background includes long-term work with people from different cultural contexts, and she brings that perspective to conversations about family of origin, adoption and foster care, and cross-cultural stress. She also has experience supporting people through caregiver strain, aging and end-of-life issues, and recovery from loss.

Valarie uses a mix of approaches to fit each person’s needs, drawing from client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral ideas, psychodynamic concepts, and solution-focused strategies. She may include faith-based viewpoints if a client wants that, while respecting each person’s beliefs.

Sessions aim to be practical and focused. Whether a person is navigating relationship concerns, addiction, parenting strain, or finding life purpose, she works collaboratively to set steps toward better coping and clearer decision making.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and understanding a person’s experience. In practice this means the therapist reflects feelings, asks clarifying questions, and follows the client’s priorities to build trust and clarity, which helps with issues like self-esteem, life purpose, and relationship concerns.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. It uses practical exercises and small behavior changes to reduce anxiety, lift mood, and manage stress or addictive patterns.

Psychodynamic Therapy pays attention to patterns that come from past relationships and early life. Talking through these patterns can help people understand why they repeat certain behaviors and make different choices going forward.

Finding the right approach is part of the work itself. The therapist collaborates with each person to decide which methods to try based on their goals and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress is made.

Online sessions make it possible to meet by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for a full conversation and visual cues, phone can work when bandwidth is limited, and chat or text are good for quick check-ins or brief coaching between longer sessions. These options aim to fit therapy into busy schedules and different life situations.