Karen Lakritz, LCSW

Karen Lakritz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist. She has supported people facing a wide range of concerns, including depression, anxiety, grief and loss, and substance use related to loneliness. She has also worked with individuals living with severe bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, bringing clinical experience to complex presentations.

Karen speaks from lived experience as well as professional practice - she has a mild stutter and some dyslexia, and this perspective informs her understanding of the challenges non-neurotypical people can face when seeking care. For nearly a decade she has spent much of the year living in Canada, and she is familiar with the health and housing systems that clients may need to navigate there.

Her therapeutic style is warm and supportive, grounded in respect, sensitivity, compassion, and accountability. Her approach blends cognitive-behavioral techniques, client-centered principles, solution-focused work, and rational-emotive methods to tailor treatment to each person. She collaborates with clients to identify practical strategies and goals, while emphasizing that meaningful change requires effort and commitment. She is ready to help and welcomes the opportunity to work with new clients.

Therapeutic Approaches and Meaningful Online Care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT helps people clarify their values and take committed action in the face of difficult thoughts and feelings. It is often useful for stress, anxiety, and situations where avoidance has become limiting and a different way of relating to inner experience is needed). Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns of relating formed in close relationships and explores how those patterns affect current connections and emotional safety - it can be especially helpful for relationship, abandonment, and attachment issues). Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes an empathic, nonjudgmental therapeutic relationship where the therapist offers understanding and support while clients lead the pace and direction of change - this approach supports self-exploration, self-esteem, and personal growth).

Karen approaches treatment collaboratively, recognizing that finding the right therapeutic method is part of the process. She works with clients to identify which strategies best fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting methods over time as progress and circumstances evolve.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility and easier access to care. Video calls and phone sessions allow real-time conversation and focused connection, while live chat and text-based messaging provide options for support that fit into busy schedules or different comfort levels. These formats make it possible to maintain continuity of care across locations and life changes, while enabling therapists and licensed professionals to tailor sessions to each client’s needs.