- Years in practice
- 22
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Oregon
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Family conflicts
About Denise
Denise Stuntzner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Oregon with more than two decades of clinical experience. She draws on 22 years of direct psychotherapy practice and a long history in human services to help people navigate stress, parenting challenges, relationship strain, grief, addiction, and mood concerns.
Denise prefers a practical, straightforward approach and aims to make therapy useful from the first session. She frames sessions around clear goals and problem solving.
Background and approach
Denise blends client-centered conversations with tools from cognitive behavioral approaches to identify unhelpful thinking and change behavior. Mindfulness practices and brief solution-focused techniques are used when they fit the situation. Her background includes work in child and family mental health, domestic violence services, hospice, medical clinics, and inpatient psychiatric settings.
Denise has also served as a wellness coordinator for a tribal program and as a field instructor and state-certified clinical supervisor for social work students and clinicians. In-session work tends to be active and collaborative. A parent worried about sleep, anger, postpartum adjustment, or ongoing family conflict can expect concrete strategies, short-term skill building, and space to talk through emotions.
Denise also supports people facing chronic illness, caregiving strain, and end-of-life challenges. She communicates plainly and focuses on practical steps clients can use day to day. Therapy can include talk, simple behavioral experiments, and brief mindfulness practices to reduce overwhelm and improve coping.
What Denise works with
Everything Denise lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Denise helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Addictions
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Divorce and separation
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Isolation / loneliness
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Denise lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approach, tools, and online access
Denise commonly uses client-centered work and cognitive behavioral therapy to guide online sessions. Client-centered work means the conversation follows each person's concerns and priorities, with the therapist reflecting back what they hear and helping clients set meaningful goals. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying patterns of thinking and behavior and testing small changes that can reduce anxiety, depression, or disruptive habits.She also brings mindfulness techniques into sessions to help with stress and emotional regulation, teaching simple breathing or attention exercises that can be practiced between meetings. Choosing the right mix of methods is a collaborative process; the therapist and client will try approaches, review what helps, and adjust plans to match goals and preferences.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls allow face-to-face work and guided exercises, phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports shorter check-ins, and messaging lets clients share updates between meetings. These options provide flexibility for parents balancing schedules, medical appointments, or work demands; sessions can be scheduled and changed to meet practical needs.
Questions people ask about Denise
What issues does she commonly help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, parenting concerns, relationship and family problems, grief, trauma, addictions, sleep problems, anger, and compassion fatigue among other issues.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is active, straightforward, and goal-oriented with an emphasis on practical steps. Sessions focus on problem solving, skills, and clarifying next steps.
What is her professional background?
She has 22 years of psychotherapy experience and a long history in human services, including work in medical settings, hospice, tribal wellness, and inpatient psychiatry.
What are her credentials and location?
She holds a Licensed Clinical Social Worker credential - LCSW - and practices in Oregon.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available?
She offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How does cost and billing work?
Cost varies with location and therapist arrangements; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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