- Empathic listener
- Goal-directed help
- 21 years experience
About Valerie
Valerie LaPorte is a licensed clinical social worker (LICSW) with 21 years of professional experience. She works with people who face stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and a range of relationship and life-change issues. Valerie aims to listen closely and help clients set clear, manageable goals.
Her background includes long-term experience with people who have serious mental illness and a wide variety of other challenges. She has supported clients across the lifespan, from young children to older adults, and has worked with issues such as abuse, incarceration, disability, and grief. She is also approved by the Minnesota Board of Social Work to provide clinical and non-clinical licensing supervision.
Valerie’s style blends empathy with a goal-directed focus. Sessions tend to center on focused listening, problem solving, and building practical steps toward the client’s goals. She emphasizes dignity, respect, and compassion in every interaction.
Clinically, she draws from several evidence-informed approaches. Those include attachment-based work to look at relationship patterns, cognitive behavioral techniques to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, dialectical strategies for emotion regulation, and mindfulness practices to build present-moment awareness. She adapts methods to match each person’s needs rather than using a single fixed approach.
People who connect with her often want clear steps, a nonjudgmental stance, and strategies they can use between sessions. To begin, clients follow the standard intake steps through the platform to match and schedule according to Valerie’s availability.
How attachment, CBT, and mindfulness work online
Valerie uses attachment-based ideas to help people understand their relationship patterns and how those patterns affect stress and intimacy. That work looks at how early bonds shape expectations and then helps people test and try new ways of relating.She also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and changing behaviors that keep problems going. CBT is practical and often includes homework between sessions to build new habits.
Mindfulness practices are another part of her approach and teach simple ways to notice thoughts and bodily sensations without judgment. Those practices can help reduce anxiety and improve focus in daily life.
Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Valerie will discuss goals, preferences, and what feels most useful, then tailor methods to fit each person’s needs rather than imposing one set path.
For practical online therapy details, confirm the current session options before booking because the biography does not list formats. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Some people prefer audio-only for lower bandwidth or video when visual cues matter; discuss these preferences when scheduling so sessions match everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
21+ years
Credentials
Minnesota
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Valerie commonly help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, addictions, relationship and intimacy issues, parenting and family concerns, sleep problems, anger, self-esteem, bipolar disorder, compassion fatigue, ADHD, and codependency.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach is empathic and goal-directed. She focuses on listening, problem solving, and helping people set practical steps toward their goals.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 21 years of professional experience and over a decade of clinical practice, including long-term work with people who have serious mental illness.
What credentials and region does she represent?
Valerie holds a LICSW credential and practices in Minnesota as a Minnesota LICSW. She is also an approved Minnesota Board of Social Work clinical and non-clinical licensing supervisor.
In which language are sessions offered?
Sessions are offered in English. She also accepts international clients.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not specified in the biography.
How is cost structured for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I get started with therapy?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to 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.