Sheri Bell-O'Gara, LCSW

Sheri Bell-O'Gara is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Indiana with 29 years of experience. She focuses on practical steps people can use to manage anxiety, trauma, grief, sleep problems, depression, and stress. Sheri aims to make therapy feel approachable and direct.

She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Client-Centered Therapy, EMDR, and mindfulness to tailor sessions to each person's needs. Sessions often include talking through patterns, trying new coping skills, and practicing small changes between meetings. Sheri says she follows the lead of the person in the room rather than forcing a single method.

Her background includes working with veterans, hospice clients, and older adults, and she has assisted people coping with loss, chronic illness, caregiving stress, and major life transitions. Those experiences inform a practical approach to grief, end-of-life issues, and caregiver burnout. Sheri also helps people who struggle with anger, intimacy-related concerns, self-esteem, and feelings of isolation.

She brings a compassionate style and a readiness to use humor when appropriate. Sessions are meant to feel humane and down-to-earth, with an emphasis on realistic, usable strategies. Sheri encourages clients to try techniques and report back on what helps.

Therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, and Sheri works with each person to choose a format that fits their routine. She aims to be supportive and practical while helping people move forward.

How online approaches like CBT and EMDR work in sessions

Many online sessions use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking and test new behaviors, which can help with anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and stress. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy focuses on values and committed action while teaching ways to live alongside difficult thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them. EMDR is used to process traumatic memories through a structured sequence of attention and reflection to reduce the intensity of distressing recollections.

Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with the person about goals, symptoms, and preferences, then try methods that fit. Progress is reviewed together and the plan is adjusted based on what helps most for daily life.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video sessions can support face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a simpler check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging let people send shorter updates or check in between sessions without scheduling a full call. These options make it easier to fit regular work on concerns into a busy life.