- Years in practice
- 15
- Credentials
- LPCC
- Licensed in
- Ohio
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Relationship issues
About Valerie
Valerie Wolfinger is a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) with 15 years of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and parenting challenges. She writes plainly and aims to help clients make practical changes that feel real in day-to-day life. Valerie brings a direct, often lighthearted style that still focuses on clear goals and honest conversation.
She believes people carry forward ideas from the past that once made sense but no longer fit.
Background and approach
Therapy with her looks at those old beliefs and the thinking patterns that keep someone stuck. She uses straightforward questions, occasional humor, and practical steps to help people test new ways of coping and relating. Valerie draws on client-centered and solution-focused approaches to keep sessions collaborative and goal oriented.
She also uses cognitive behavioral techniques to spot unhelpful thinking, and mindfulness practices to reduce reactivity and increase self-awareness. Motivational interviewing helps when making behavior changes feels overwhelming. Her experience includes work with depression, trauma, substance use, relationship strain, postpartum and fertility concerns, and a range of family issues.
She also addresses attachment and abandonment concerns, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and kink-aware issues when they arise. She welcomes conversations about identity and LGBT-related stressors. Outside of work she is a parent who enjoys reading, cooking, and TV.
Valerie trained at Ohio University and completed a master’s degree at the University of Dayton, graduating magna cum laude. Her practice is based in Ohio and sessions are offered in English.
What Valerie works with
Everything Valerie lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Valerie helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
- Grief
- Depression
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Valerie 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.
Practical approaches for online parenting and life challenges
Client-centered work focuses on listening and reflecting what matters most to the client, so the conversation stays rooted in each person’s goals and values. This approach helps people feel heard and puts their priorities at the center of decisions about change.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts influence feelings and behavior. It uses simple experiments and thought records to test unhelpful beliefs and develop new habits, which is useful for anxiety, depression, and recurring stress patterns.
Mindfulness therapy teaches short practices that bring attention to the present moment and reduce reactivity. These exercises can help with overwhelming emotions, parenting stress, and managing cravings or intrusive thoughts.
Choosing the right approach is a team effort. Valerie will work with each person to decide which methods match their goals and comfort level. She tailors the plan over time, checking in about what helps and what should change.
Online sessions can fit into busy days. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions use less bandwidth, live chat offers a fast check-in, and text messaging supports brief updates between meetings. Those options make it easier to keep therapy consistent while balancing family, work, and other obligations.
Questions people ask about Valerie
What concerns does Valerie commonly help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addictions, relationship strain, parenting challenges, trauma and related concerns listed in her specialties.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is direct and collaborative, often using gentle humor and pointed questions to move toward solutions and clearer thinking.
What kind of experience does she bring?
Valerie has 15 years of counseling experience and has worked with people facing postpartum and fertility stress, substance use, trauma, and family issues.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds an LPCC credential and practices out of Ohio.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats are available online?
Therapy can take place via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging depending on client preference.
How are costs handled for sessions?
Costs vary by location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What is the process to begin working together?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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