- Collaborative approach
- Skill building focus
- Trauma-informed care
About Wendy
Wendy Goffena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nine years as an LCSW and a long history in mental health services. She practices in Montana and brings experience from community mental health, medical social work, residential treatment, corrections, and child protective services. She works with adults and older adults on everyday mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief.
Her style is practical and collaborative. Wendy uses a client-centered approach and treats the person, not just symptoms. She helps people name what matters to them, set realistic goals, and build skills they can use between sessions. Short-term skill work and longer-term processing are both part of her toolbox.
Wendy draws from several therapy methods to match each person’s needs. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to spot unhelpful thinking, Dialectical Behavior Therapy to build emotion regulation and coping skills, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and action, and EMDR for trauma processing when appropriate. She balances skills training with reflective work so people feel steadier in daily life.
Her background includes work with military veterans, people with severe and persistent mental illness, court-mandated clients, and people coping with chronic medical conditions. She has provided individual, group, and family therapy in rural and clinical settings. That range informs how she supports people across life stages and challenges like parenting stress, caregiver burden, chronic pain, and codependency issues.
Outside of therapy she spends time outdoors hiking, fishing, gardening, and making art. That practical, grounded outlook carries into how she helps people manage stress and reclaim small sources of joy.
Approaches that guide online work and goal planning
Wendy often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and then try small behavior changes to test new ideas. CBT is helpful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and messy thinking that feeds distress.She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for mood regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication. DBT skills are practical tools for calming intense emotions and managing conflict. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is another part of her practice; it focuses on clarifying values and taking meaningful steps even when feelings are difficult.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Wendy collaborates with each person to choose which methods fit their goals and daily life. She combines skill-building and deeper processing so adjustments can happen between sessions and progress becomes measurable.
The biography does not list specific online formats. Before booking, confirm which session types are offered. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let people use visual or audio tools for skills practice and EMDR-oriented processing when appropriate.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
9+ years
Credentials
Montana, Wyoming
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does Wendy help people with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, relationship and family challenges, parenting strain, career stress, codependency, chronic illness, and related concerns.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her approach is client-centered and collaborative. She mixes skills training and reflective work so clients can try new behaviors and notice what helps.
What is her professional background?
She has nine years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and 24 years total in mental health roles across community mental health, residential treatment, medical social work, corrections, and child protective services.
What credentials and region are listed for this therapist?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in Montana and Wyoming as WY LCSW and MT LCSW, and she practices in Montana.
Which languages are supported and can international clients connect?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not accepted at this time.
What session formats are available?
The original biography does not specify session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking to ensure they meet your needs.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with this therapist?
Choose the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions 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.