Valerie Schmude, LPC

Valerie Schmude is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 12 years of clinical experience in Wisconsin. She focuses on practical steps to reduce stress and anxiety and to help people untangle painful experiences. Valerie speaks plainly and meets people where they are so conversations feel direct and useful.

She works with relationship strain and family problems, helping people set boundaries and rebuild trust. Trauma and abuse, including sexual assault and related grief, are areas she addresses with care and attention. Valerie also supports those coping with codependency, phobias, and the long tail of loss.

Her style is collaborative and straightforward. Sessions include listening, gentle challenge, and problem-solving. She tailors the pacing and techniques to each person’s needs rather than using a fixed template.

Valerie draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thinking and try small behavior changes. She also uses Trauma-Focused Therapy to address the effects of past harm and existential ideas to help people clarify values and meaning. These approaches are woven into a plan that fits the individual.

People who come to Valerie often want clear tools and room to talk through difficult feelings. She guides practical steps between sessions and keeps goals realistic. The aim is steady progress people can notice in daily life.

How Valerie’s approaches work online

Valerie uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and test unhelpful thoughts and to try small behavior changes that make daily life easier. CBT is practical and often focuses on skills you can practice between sessions.

She also uses Trauma-Focused Therapy to address the effects of past harm. This approach looks at how traumatic events affect thinking, feeling, and behavior, and it supports gradual coping and healing at a pace that feels manageable.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Valerie will talk with each person about their goals and preferences and then build a plan together. That plan can mix techniques from different approaches so it fits how someone likes to work and what they need most.

Online sessions offer flexibility for different needs. Video calls let you read facial cues and hold longer conversations. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a camera isn’t wanted. Live chat and text-based messaging are useful for short check-ins, written reflection, or when scheduling makes real-time calls harder. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent and to fit sessions into a busy life.