Ivan Resto, LCMHC, LPC

Ivan Resto is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor with 15 years of experience. He focuses on practical help for people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, anger, or grief. He speaks plainly and aims to make next steps clear and manageable.

Ivan uses methods that help people change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and build better coping skills. He also draws on client-centered listening to make sure each person’s goals guide the work. Mindfulness and trauma-focused techniques are available when past events or chronic worry are part of the problem.

Sessions are aimed at solving everyday problems and improving how people handle hard moments. Ivan helps clients work through relationship and communication struggles, parenting strain, career stress, and mood concerns including bipolar disorder and panic attacks. He also addresses post-traumatic stress and family conflict in a straightforward way.

His style is direct but respectful. He helps people break big issues into small, doable steps. The goal is measurable progress people can notice between sessions.

Ivan practices in Virginia and conducts sessions in English. He combines a cognitive behavioral approach with client-centered support and skills from dialectical behavior therapy when needed. That mix is used to match the work to each person’s needs and pace.

Approaches that translate to online care

Ivan commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on recognizing unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety and lift mood. CBT is often useful for panic, social anxiety, and everyday worry. Client-centered therapy is another approach he uses; it emphasizes active listening and tailoring sessions to each person's goals, helping people feel heard and involved in decisions about care. Dialectical behavior therapy adds concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness, useful when strong mood swings or anger cause problems.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. He discusses goals and preferences with each person and adapts techniques over time so the work fits what the client needs. The therapist and client check progress and shift focus if something isn’t working.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different situations. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for quick check-ins, short skill practice, or when typing feels more comfortable. These options make it simpler to fit sessions into a busy week and to continue care from wherever a person is located in Virginia.