Barbara Defazzio, LMHC

Barbara Defazzio is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with 40 years of professional experience. She practices in Florida and focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, and family concerns. She offers a calm, steady presence for those taking a first step into therapy.

She spent more than two decades running a private practice in Massachusetts where she focused on treating sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress. Since relocating to Florida she has continued this work and has supported people who experienced the foster care system as children. She also helps parents and caregivers with post-adoption transitions and blending families.

In sessions she uses straightforward, practical methods. She draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, client-centered approaches, and solution-focused techniques to address day-to-day struggles. She helps clients notice unhelpful thoughts, try small behavior changes, and set realistic goals.

Trauma-focused work is a regular part of her practice. She has sustained experience supporting people after sexual and physical trauma and with post-traumatic stress symptoms. That background informs how she balances safety, pacing, and problem-solving with each person.

Barbara also addresses issues like abandonment, attachment concerns, caregiver stress, communication problems, loneliness, and guilt or shame. She aims to help people develop coping skills, improve relationships, and manage life transitions so they can handle what comes next.

How Barbara Uses Therapy Methods Online

Barbara blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and trauma-focused work with client-centered listening. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people identify thoughts that increase anxiety or sadness and try new behaviors to test different outcomes. Trauma-focused therapy emphasizes careful pacing, rebuilding safety, and processing the effects of sexual or physical trauma over time.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. She will discuss goals, preferences, and how symptoms affect daily life, then shape sessions around what feels most helpful. Clients and the therapist adjust methods together as needs change.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit into busy lives. Video calls allow face-to-face work when visual cues matter. Phone sessions can be a good choice when bandwidth is limited or for a simple check-in. Live chat and text messaging support shorter, more frequent touchpoints and can help people maintain momentum between longer sessions.