Robert Burke, LISW

Robert Burke is a licensed independent social worker with three decades of experience in Ohio. He focuses on helping people who are facing stress, anxiety, grief, depression, life changes, compassion fatigue, and a wide range of relationship and mental health concerns. He offers a calm, collaborative style and practical support for everyday problems.

Over 30 years Robert has worked in hospitals, rehabilitation settings, dialysis units, and community programs around Cleveland. That variety gave him a lot of experience with people in different stages of life and care situations, including hospice and geriatric concerns. He brings those real-world experiences into sessions to make treatment more relevant.

His work draws on approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered methods, dialectical behavior therapy, emotionally-focused work, and psychodynamic ideas. He uses these tools to help people notice unhelpful thoughts, practice new coping skills, and improve emotional connection and communication.

Sessions tend to be collaborative. He aims to listen first, then offer clear options, education, and resources people can try between meetings. The focus is on small, doable steps that reduce distress and build skills for handling stress, impulsivity, or relationship strain.

People who want straightforward guidance and experience-based perspectives often find his approach useful. He supports those navigating caregiving stress, career decisions, identity and intimacy issues, personality concerns, and long-term mood or anxiety challenges.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online care

Robert often uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of thinking and behaving; this approach is useful for anxiety, depression, and stress-related problems. He also draws on client-centered methods that focus on active listening and building a trusting conversation so people feel heard and can set their own goals. Dialectical behavior therapy techniques may be used when skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, or impulsivity are needed.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or has not worked before. Together they decide which techniques to emphasize and adjust the plan as progress is reviewed.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone session, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, phone sessions can be a good option when bandwidth is limited or you prefer not to be on camera, and chat or messaging works well for brief check-ins or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to attend sessions from work, home, or while traveling and to follow up with short messages when a quick support or clarification is helpful.