Vikki Gardner , LPC, LPCC

Vikki Gardner is a licensed counselor who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, and depression. She brings 23 years of professional experience and a steady, practical approach to sessions. Vikki listens for strengths in each person and helps build on them. She encourages small, manageable steps and normalizes how hard it can feel to begin therapy.

Vikki works from the belief that each person is the expert on their own life. Sessions focus on clear goals and real-life problem solving. She helps people name what matters, sort through patterns, and try new ways of coping between meetings. The work often includes improving communication, noticing unhelpful thinking, and practicing skills that reduce overwhelm.

Her background includes licensure in Michigan and Ohio as a professional counselor, and nearly a quarter century in clinical settings. That experience has included supporting people through mood shifts, postpartum depression, grief after separation, and the fallout from discrimination or past abuse. She draws on what has helped others while tailoring the plan to each person’s needs.

Vikki is experienced with issues that commonly affect women, including postpartum mood changes, self-worth concerns, life transitions, and balancing roles. She also supports young adults facing early life choices and identity questions. Sessions are offered in English and provided through several online formats to fit different schedules.

Therapy begins with a short conversation to identify goals and preferred ways of working. From there she and the client set a pace that feels doable and trackable over time.

How evidence-based approaches translate to online care

Therapeutic techniques focus on practical skills and making sense of difficult experiences. One common approach emphasizes identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and practicing more balanced thoughts; this helps with anxiety, low mood, and self-criticism. Another approach focuses on gradual exposure to reminders of past trauma or fear while building coping skills to reduce distress; this can help with post-traumatic stress and avoidance behaviors.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods match their goals, needs, and pace. That plan can change as progress is made or new priorities emerge, so sessions remain flexible and goal-oriented.

Online therapy offers several practical benefits. Video calls are good for a full conversation that mimics in-person sessions. Phone sessions can fit a break at work or be used when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging make brief check-ins or ongoing support easy between longer sessions. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy life while keeping the focus on steady progress.