About Valerie
Valerie Engel helps people who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or worn out find clearer footing. She listens closely and points out strengths clients may not see. Sessions focus on practical steps to manage stress, improve sleep, and rebuild self-esteem.
She uses straightforward tools to change unhelpful thinking and to build new habits. Valerie blends client-centered work with cognitive behavioral techniques. That means she follows each person’s lead while also offering concrete strategies to test and change patterns.
Background and approach
Her background began in addiction and recovery counseling in 2007, and she added broader mental health therapy in 2017. Over 18 years she has worked with people facing trauma, depression, grief, relationship strain, and challenges around substance use. She is licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, and as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC, and practices in Washington.
In sessions she focuses on skill building - communication tools, coping plans, and sleep strategies. Clients can expect a calm, steady approach and help breaking big problems into small steps. Valerie also uses mindfulness and pacing to reduce stress and support clearer thinking.
Her style suits people who want practical help and steady listening. Parents reading on a phone can expect short-term goals and usable strategies they can try between sessions. The emphasis is on making everyday life feel more manageable one step at a time.
How Valerie’s Approaches Fit Online Therapy
Client-centered therapy emphasizes listening and following what matters most to each person. It helps when someone needs a supportive space to talk through relationship strain, grief, or life changes and to be heard while exploring options. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors; it is often useful for depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and patterns tied to substance use.Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with the client to choose methods that match goals, comfort level, and the specific issues at hand. Sessions can shift over time from supportive listening to more skills-focused work as needs change.
Online formats make that collaboration easier to fit into life. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for deeper discussion. Phone sessions can be a good choice when bandwidth is low or when a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging offer brief exchanges and ongoing support between sessions. These options provide flexibility so therapy can continue around work, caregiving, or other commitments.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Valerie address?
How would she describe her therapy style?
What is her professional background?
What credentials and location are listed?
Which languages are supported for sessions?
What session formats are available?
How does payment and cost work?
What steps are involved to begin therapy?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Addictions
- Sleeping disorders
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Avoidant personality
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- Colorado, Washington
- Languages
- English