Grace Szeja, LCSW

Grace Szeja is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 10 years of clinical experience and a background in hospital-based care. She has worked with people across the lifespan - from children to older adults - addressing a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, trauma and abuse, relationship and family issues, grief, parenting challenges, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and care for LGBT clients. Grace uses she/her pronouns and brings a compassionate, nonjudgmental stance to each therapeutic relationship.

Before becoming a therapist, Grace worked as a fine artist and comic illustrator, and she continues to incorporate creative practices into her clinical work. Her approach centers on meeting people where they are and helping them discover new ways of thinking, coping, and connecting with themselves and others. She blends client-centered principles with evidence-based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and she offers expressive modalities like zendoodle, zen journaling, sand tray work, drawing, painting, and clay to support different learning styles and emotional needs.

Grace welcomes clients navigating life transitions, attachment and abandonment concerns, family of origin issues, feelings of emptiness, guilt and shame, questions about life purpose, and the specific stresses facing young adults and midlife clients. She encourages people to prioritize their needs, break unhelpful patterns, and move toward greater self-awareness and self-love. Outside of clinical work she enjoys gardening, distance running, and hiking, and shares her home with three cats and two rabbits.

Therapeutic Approaches for Online Care

Grace draws on Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to guide online work. Attachment-Based Therapy explores patterns of relating and connection formed in early relationships and helps when people struggle with trust, abandonment, or difficulties forming close bonds. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a collaborative, empathetic relationship where the therapist follows the client's lead to foster self-exploration and self-direction, which is useful for building self-esteem and clarity about values. CBT focuses on identifying and shifting unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and mood dysregulation and to develop practical coping skills.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Grace works collaboratively with each person to identify which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. She tailors interventions over time and adjusts based on what helps the individual make progress.

Online therapy with Grace is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options provide flexibility for scheduling, make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, and allow access for people who live far from in-person services or who prefer remote care with licensed professionals. The goal is to create a consistent, accessible path toward meaningful change.