Lara Joynes-Whidden, LCSW
Collaborative, practical therapy for life challenges
Explore online therapy options- Years in practice
- 3
- Credentials
- LCSW
- Licensed in
- Florida
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Family conflicts
- Focus
- Anger management
About Lara
Lara Joynes-Whidden is a licensed clinical social worker who focuses on practical, collaborative therapy. She approaches sessions as a partnership and helps people move from where they are to where they want to be. Her style is straightforward and goal-focused, aimed at making changes that fit everyday life.
She draws on client-centered therapy to listen without judgment and follow each person's priorities. Cognitive behavioral techniques are used to spot unhelpful thoughts and try new behavior.
Background and approach
Motivational interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change, especially with addictions and substance concerns. Lara has three years of clinical experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings. That background gives her familiarity with mood disorders, substance use, and workplace-related stress.
She also has experience with blended family issues, relationship strain, and parenting concerns. Clients often bring worries about anxiety, depression, sleep, anger, or burnout. Lara also supports people facing ADHD, bipolar symptoms, or recovery from process and drug-related addictions.
She addresses money and career stress as part of life changes that affect well-being. Therapy sessions are conversational and practical. Lara mixes short-term solution-focused steps with deeper narrative or psychodynamic work when helpful.
She works by setting clear goals, trying small experiments between sessions, and checking progress together.
What Lara works with
Everything Lara lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Lara helps people with.
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Blended family issues
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family problems
- HIV / AIDS
- Intellectual disability
- Money and financial issues
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self-harm
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Lara lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- 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.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following the client's priorities. Online sessions let the therapist hear what matters most and shape sessions around the client's goals and values. This approach helps with relationship stress, parenting concerns, and coping with life changes.Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions. In video or phone sessions, CBT techniques are used to identify unhelpful thinking and practice new behaviors between appointments, which can help with anxiety, depression, sleep, and anger. Motivational interviewing helps people find internal motivation to change, especially useful for substance and process addictions or making career and lifestyle shifts.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences, try methods that fit the situation, and adjust over time based on what works. Clients and the therapist check progress and change course together.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is helpful when visual cues matter, phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into busy lives.
Questions people ask about Lara
What concerns does Lara help with?
She addresses a wide range of issues including addictions, anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting, sleep problems, self-esteem, and workplace stress.
What is her approach to therapy?
Her work blends client-centered listening with cognitive behavioral tools and motivational interviewing to set goals and try practical changes.
What experience does she bring?
She has three years of experience working in both outpatient and inpatient settings and in employee assistance roles.
Where is she licensed and located?
She is a Florida LCSW and practices from Florida.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can she work with international clients?
International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How does cost and scheduling work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and uses a subscription model that can be canceled at any time; to begin, select Start Therapy and complete a short matching questionnaire.
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