Laura Phen, LPC

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Client-centered therapy focuses on understanding each person's goals and experiences. In practice this means the therapist follows the client's lead, reflects what they hear, and helps people name what matters most to them. This approach is useful when someone needs a listening, nonjudgmental space to sort out parenting stress, relationship concerns, or grief.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, teaches clear skills to notice unhelpful thoughts and test different behaviors. It is practical for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and mood swings because it breaks problems into small, manageable steps. Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, offers emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills that help when feelings feel overwhelming or when someone struggles with intense reactions.

Finding the right mix of methods is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with clients to choose approaches that match their goals, pace, and comfort with tools like thought records, behavior experiments, or mindfulness exercises. That decision is revisited as progress is made.

Online therapy with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging makes it easier to fit sessions into busy days. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and teaching exercises, phone calls can work when bandwidth is limited, live chat or text are good for quick check-ins or when writing feels easier. These options give flexibility so people can use the format that best matches their schedule and needs.