Gretchen Raring, LICSW, LCSW

Gretchen Raring is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who brings 24 years of experience to clinical work in New Jersey. She focuses on helping people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, addiction, grief, trauma, and life transitions. Gretchen blends practical skills with a warm, down-to-earth manner to help people make manageable changes in daily life.

Gretchen uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) alongside acceptance and mindfulness-based ideas to help clients notice unhelpful thoughts and build better coping habits. She also draws on attachment-informed and emotionally-focused ways of working to address patterns in relationships and intimacy. Sessions aim to mix straightforward tools with listening and emotional reflection.

Her background includes many years in settings such as mental health and addiction services, and work with people experiencing homelessness and incarceration. That range has shaped a flexible style that meets people where they are and focuses on practical steps they can take now. Gretchen values working collaboratively so clients set goals that feel relevant and realistic.

In sessions she helps people develop skills for managing anger, sleep problems, attention and focus, and caregiving stress. She also offers support for career strain, parenting challenges, chronic illness, and complicated grief. The work is paced to each person's needs and often blends short-term skills with deeper emotional work.

Gretchen communicates plainly and aims to build a steady, respectful therapeutic relationship. She speaks English and practices in New Jersey. Online and remote options are part of how she supports people who need flexible ways to attend therapy.

Using CBT and Attachment Work Online

Gretchen commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviors. CBT sessions often include brief skill practice, thought records, and strategies to change patterns that maintain anxiety or low mood. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy adds an emphasis on noticing thoughts and values-based action, helping people make choices that match what matters to them even when feelings are difficult.

Attachment-informed work helps unpack how relationship patterns affect current partnerships and intimacy. That approach looks at emotional responses and communication habits so clients can try different ways of connecting and regulating feelings. Gretchen will work collaboratively to choose which approaches suit each person's goals, preferences, and needs rather than assuming one method fits everyone.

Online therapy with video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging makes it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules. Video lets people work visually through interaction and exercises, phone sessions can be simpler when bandwidth is limited, live chat supports real-time check-ins, and messaging allows short updates and written reflections between sessions. These options make it practical to keep therapy consistent while addressing everyday life demands.