Nicole Phelan, LCSW

Nicole Phelan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nine years of experience based in Maine. She approaches sessions with a warm but direct manner and aims to help people take small, practical steps toward feeling better.

She listens for what matters most to each person and then works on clear strategies. Nicole often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and attachment-focused ideas when those fit a person's goals.

Nicole has supported people coping with depression, anxiety, trauma and abuse, and attention challenges. She has experience with parenting and family concerns, grief from separation or divorce, eating and food-related issues, mood swings, and struggles with shame or self-worth. She also attends to problems like codependency, communication breakdowns, and feelings tied to adoption or abandonment.

Her style is interactive and practical. She encourages activities that connect people with nature as a way to boost mood and coping skills. Sessions tend to focus on short-term tools and doable experiments outside of sessions, alongside deeper work on attachment or past hurts when needed.

Nicole supports people who want clear steps, honest feedback, and encouragement to try new coping strategies. She aims to make therapy straightforward and useful so people can move toward more satisfying day-to-day life.

How her approaches work in online sessions

Nicole commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in online work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on noticing and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, which can help with anxiety, depression, and eating-related concerns. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice difficult feelings, clarify values, and take meaningful actions even when emotions are uncomfortable.

She also uses Attachment-Based ideas when past relationship patterns affect current life. That approach looks at how early connections shape expectations and helps people build different ways of relating and coping. Together these methods give both skills-focused tools and deeper work on relational patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their goals, needs, and pace. Sessions often combine short skill-building exercises with experiments to try between meetings, and Nicole adjusts strategies based on how those experiments go.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video allows face-to-face conversation and screen-sharing for worksheets. Phone calls can be used when bandwidth is limited or for a simpler check-in. Live chat and text messaging are useful for brief updates, step-by-step coaching, or when someone prefers writing over speaking. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and different daily rhythms.