Karen Lakritz, LCSW

Karen Lakritz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist. She has provided long-term and short-term care for people facing depression, anxiety, grief, substance use linked to loneliness, and severe mood conditions. People who prefer a warm and straightforward style will find her approachable.

Karen says she brings respect, sensitivity, and compassion to sessions alongside clear expectations and accountability. She notes firsthand experience with a mild stutter and dyslexia, and that background informs her patience with non-neurotypical communication styles. She also has lived part of each year in Canada for nearly a decade and is familiar with that country’s health and housing systems.

Her work draws on cognitive behavioral therapy along with client-centered and acceptance-oriented ideas. Sessions focus on understanding patterns of thought and behavior, then practicing changes that help day-to-day functioning. Karen aims to match methods to each person’s needs rather than follow a single formula.

In practical terms she helps people cope with stress, relationship and intimacy issues, addiction-related struggles, sleep and eating concerns, parenting strain, career decisions, and life transitions. She also addresses more specific issues such as attachment difficulties, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and grief.

Karen describes therapy as collaborative. She sets clear goals, offers tools to try between sessions, and checks progress as people work toward lasting change.

Practical therapy approaches for online care

Karen often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thought patterns and practice new ways of thinking and behaving. CBT can be useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and managing mood swings. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is another approach she uses to help people notice difficult feelings, clarify values, and take small actions that move life in a meaningful direction. Attachment-Based Therapy appears in her work to address patterns in close relationships and to build more secure connections and healthier boundaries.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work together. She treats therapy as a collaborative process and will help figure out which methods match the client's goals, needs, and preferences. That means trying tools in session, adjusting as progress is reviewed, and combining techniques when helpful.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide practical options. Video lets people work face-to-face from wherever they are. Phone sessions can be a good fit when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging offer shorter, flexible check-ins and ongoing touchpoints between sessions. These formats support scheduling around work, caregiving, and other daily demands while keeping therapy consistent.