Denise Stuntzner, LCSW

Denise Stuntzner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Oregon with 22 years of clinical experience. She offers straightforward, goal-focused therapy designed to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and other life challenges. Denise writes plainly and works in a hands-on way to help clients find practical steps forward.

She trained at Portland State University where she earned a Master in Social Work and has worked across many settings including medical clinics, inpatient psychiatric care, hospice, and community programs. Denise has also served as a field instructor and as a state-certified clinical supervisor for social workers pursuing their LCSW.

Her style is active and direct. Sessions focus on real problems and concrete strategies rather than long rounds of theory. She combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT and Solution-Focused Therapy with mindfulness and some neuroscience-informed ideas to help change unhelpful thinking and behavior.

In practice she helps people spot patterns that keep them stuck and build small, measurable changes. That can mean shifting anxious thoughts, changing how a person copes with anger, or practicing new communication skills for family strain and relationship stress. The work aims to improve day-to-day functioning at home and work.

Outside of clinical work Denise continues a life-long interest in health and sports. She has a long history in competitive swimming and enjoys skiing, travel, family time, and animals.

Practical therapies you can use online

Denise often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. CBT helps with anxiety, depression, panic, and sleep problems by teaching concrete skills and behavioral experiments.

She also uses Client-Centered Therapy, which centers the session on a person's own goals and pace. This approach emphasizes listening, validation, and working at the client’s level to build trust and self-direction. Mindfulness Therapy appears in her work as well, offering simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve coping with stress and grief.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Denise will collaborate with each person to pick methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences, and she will adjust tactics as progress is made.

Online therapy formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversations, phone calls can be a good fit when bandwidth is limited, live chat is useful for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports on-the-go reflection and skill practice. These options make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule and to continue momentum between appointments.