Joshua Swab, LMSW

Joshua Swab is a licensed social worker in Michigan with eight years of clinical experience. He helps people facing stress, anxiety, addiction, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, and depression. Joshua speaks plainly and meets clients where they are to begin practical change.

He draws on cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. Joshua also uses client-centered methods that focus on listening and building on each person’s strengths. He brings elements of dialectical behavior therapy and mindfulness to teach emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills.

Sessions are collaborative and goal-focused. Joshua works to make steps feel manageable and concrete, such as small behavior changes or coping plans for difficult moments. He encourages people to notice progress, even when it is slow.

Joshua has supported people with addiction concerns and those coping with chronic pain or medical challenges. He also helps people dealing with guilt, shame, isolation, divorce and separation, money stress, and issues tied to multicultural identity and prejudice.

He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different routines. Joshua guides each person through a matching process to identify goals and a session format that fits their life.

How Joshua’s Approaches Work Online

Joshua commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and client-centered techniques in online sessions. CBT helps people identify and test unhelpful thoughts and then try new behaviors to reduce anxiety or depression symptoms. Client-centered work focuses on listening, reflecting, and building on a person’s strengths to support motivation and change.

He also draws from dialectical behavior therapy when stronger emotion regulation skills are needed. DBT-style skills teach practical ways to tolerate distress, manage intense emotions, and improve relationships without judgment. Joshua treats selecting an approach as a collaborative process and will help figure out which methods fit a person’s goals and preferences.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to offer flexibility. Video calls allow more face-to-face interaction, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, chat works for brief check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, school, or caregiving routines while keeping the focus on clear goals and usable skills.