John Burkin, LCPC, LPCC

John Burkin is a licensed counselor who helps adults who are feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems, or depression. He speaks plainly and asks clients to be active in the work. He welcomes conversations about sexuality and related concerns in a straightforward way.

He began in community mental health 17 years ago, working with people living with severe psychiatric illness and with those recovering from substance use and mood disorders. That experience shaped a practical style that looks for what helps in real life. He often sees clients struggling with obsessive thoughts and panic symptoms and aims to teach skills that reduce their day-to-day impact.

In sessions he sets clear expectations. He invites people to judge whether the fit feels right after the first meeting, and encourages honest feedback if it does not. He uses a mix of approaches that focuses on present problems and concrete steps forward, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and solution-focused techniques.

John is direct but adds a little humor to ease difficult conversations. He asks clients to do active work between sessions rather than just vent. People who do best with him tend to be ready to try mindfulness skills and practical behavior changes.

He works with individual adults ages 18 and older on issues such as anxiety, OCD and obsessive thoughts, mood disorders, coming out and sexual orientation questions, social anxiety, and sleep difficulties. Goal-setting is central, and sessions focus on small changes that build better routines and clearer thinking.

Practical therapy approaches for online care

John often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and actions so clients can try small changes and track what helps. He also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotional regulation and distress-tolerance techniques that reduce impulsive reactions and intense anxiety.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to decide which methods feel most useful based on goals and preferences. That might mean focusing on skill practice, short solution-focused steps, or combining mindfulness exercises with behavior change over several sessions.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to match different needs. Video calls allow face-to-face skill coaching, phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited, chat can be useful for quick check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to keep practicing skills where they matter most.