Janice McDermott, LCSW

Janice McDermott is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 31 years of experience. She guides people through hard moments and helps them take the next steps toward feeling better. Janice writes straightforwardly and meets people where they are. She has worked in outpatient and inpatient mental health centers, addiction recovery programs, public and charter schools, and private practice. She also supervised new social workers as they pursued their licenses. That mix of work brought experience with many life challenges. In sessions she focuses on practical change. She listens for what matters to each person and helps them find the next small move. If someone is unsure what to change, she starts there and helps them notice what they need through simple, grounded exercises. Her approach combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, acceptance-focused work, and client-centered listening. Janice also draws on emotionally focused and existential ideas to help people make meaning and repair connection when needed. She aims to help people build skills they can use between sessions. Janice is the author of books about healing and mindset. She emphasizes steady progress rather than perfection and supports self-empowerment as a goal. Sessions are tailored to the person’s needs and paced to fit their life and goals.

How Janice Uses Therapeutic Approaches Online

Janice commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thinking patterns and try different behaviors. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, stress, and many everyday problems because it focuses on small, practical changes. She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which helps people notice uncomfortable thoughts and feelings while focusing on what matters to them. ACT can be helpful for people facing grief, life changes, or chronic stress who want to live by their values despite difficulty. Finding the right approach is part of the work. Janice will talk with each person about goals and preferences and then try methods that fit those needs. This is a collaborative process and can shift as progress is made. Online sessions offer clear practical benefits. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when cameras help connection. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging make it easier to check in between sessions or fit short conversations into a busy day. These options provide flexibility to balance appointments with work, school, caregiving, or other responsibilities while using evidence-informed approaches in everyday life.