Barbara Pettibone, LCSW, CSW

Barbara Pettibone, LCSW, CSW, brings decades of clinical experience to people facing stress, anxiety, grief, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, and life changes. She describes the client as the leader in therapy and focuses on practical steps that match each person’s needs. Barbara is based in Colorado and has worked with young adults, adults, and seniors across inpatient and outpatient settings.

Her approach is straightforward and collaborative. She helps people name the problems they want to change and set clear goals to address them. Sessions blend talking, skill-building, and problem-solving so people can try new ways of coping between meetings.

Barbara draws from several well-known methods, including cognitive behavioral therapy, attachment-based ideas, and client-centered ways of working. She also uses elements of dialectical behavior therapy and emotionally-focused approaches when useful. The emphasis is on what helps the individual make progress in daily life.

With 46 years in the field, she offers experience with aging concerns, caregiver stress, chronic health issues, trauma and abuse, and a wide range of mood and relationship difficulties. People seeking help with parenting challenges, career stress, body image, codependency, or coping after loss can find practical guidance.

Barbara frames therapy as a partnership. She provides honest, warm support while encouraging people to take the lead in their healing. The work is paced to each person’s goals and can include skill practice, grief work, and insight-oriented conversation.

How these approaches translate to online work

Barbara uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try small behavior changes that can improve mood and daily functioning. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with stressful life shifts.

She also draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how past relationships shape current patterns. That work helps with intimacy issues, communication problems, and understanding responses to loss or abandonment.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist collaborates with each person to choose methods that fit their goals, needs, and preferences. Sessions may combine insight, skill-building, and practical homework so people can test new strategies between meetings.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy more flexible. Video sessions work well for deeper conversation and visual cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, chat or messaging suits brief check-ins and ongoing coaching, and text allows short updates or quick support between appointments. These options let people fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between meetings.