- Client-centered care
- Mindfulness tools
- Goal focused
About Benia
Benia Thomas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who brings 12 years of experience to her work. She earned a Master of Social Work from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree from Lehman College. Benia draws on a warm, direct style to help people sort through stress, anxiety, relationship strain, and challenges connected to identity.
Benia began her career in New York City foster care, supporting children and families through difficult transitions. She later worked with incarcerated women with severe mental illness, running empowerment and psychoeducation groups and offering one-on-one counseling. She also served as a clinical supervisor for master-level social workers.
Her practice focuses on common life struggles such as depression, grief, parenting stress, intimacy concerns, and career questions. She has worked professionally with LGBTQ people for more than ten years and brings that experience to conversations about identity and community. Codependency and attachment-related patterns are among the additional issues she addresses.
Benia uses a flexible, tailored approach rather than a single method for everyone. She combines client-centered work with cognitive techniques, mindfulness, and solution-focused ideas depending on what fits each person. Her manner is active, practical, and often infused with a sense of humor.
In sessions she helps people name clear goals and try small, manageable steps toward them. That hands-on approach aims to create changes that last, with attention to what life looks like outside the therapy room.
Approaches that translate to online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening closely and following each person's goals. It helps people feel heard, clarify what matters to them, and make choices that fit their life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches practical skills for managing anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to decide which methods to use based on needs, goals, and comfort. That means trying ideas, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together over time.
Confirm the specific session options before booking since formats were not specified in the biography. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow for more flexible timing around work or caregiving. It also lets people use mindfulness and CBT exercises in the setting where they live, so new skills can be practiced in real situations. Licensed professionals can adapt their methods so practical tools and goal-focused steps work well through remote appointments.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
12+ years
Credentials
New York, New Jersey
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does Benia help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, intimacy issues, parenting stress, career questions, and compassion fatigue among other concerns.
What is her general therapy style?
She practices in an active, collaborative way that combines listening with practical steps. Sessions balance warmth and direct feedback and aim to set clear, achievable goals.
How long has she been working in the field?
Benia has 12 years of professional experience, including work in foster care, group work with incarcerated women, and clinical supervision roles.
Where does she practice and what are her credentials?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in New Jersey with licensure noted in New York and New Jersey.
What languages are offered for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
She does not work with international clients at this time.
How does billing or cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist scheduling; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule based on the therapist's availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.