Sharleen Nwakwesi, LCSW

Sharleen Nwakwesi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 28 years of experience. She focuses on practical, respectful care that helps people manage stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, depression, and life changes. Sharleen works with individuals facing relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, anger, career challenges, bipolar disorder, compassion fatigue, and ADHD. Sessions are offered in English and are delivered from Florida. Sharleen uses a client-centered style that puts the person’s goals first. She listens without judgment and helps clients identify small changes they can try between sessions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is part of her toolkit to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and change behaviors that get in the way of daily life. Her background includes a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, a Bachelor of Social Work, and a Master of Social Work from the Universities of Toronto and York. Those degrees support a long career helping people cope with medical and mental health challenges. Much of her practice involves adjustment to illness and disability and the stress caregivers face. That can mean working with people dealing with acute or chronic medical illness, acquired brain injury, dementia, bereavement, or the emotional fallout of long-term conditions. Sharleen favors collaborative work. She helps clients build on strengths, set realistic goals, and make step-by-step progress toward them. Her approach aims to be practical and hopeful, focused on what each person can do in their life right now.

How these approaches translate to online care

Sharleen uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify thoughts that cause distress and practice different behaviors to feel better. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and problematic patterns of thinking.

She also practices Client-Centered Therapy, which centers on listening and supporting a person’s own goals. That approach is useful for people who need a respectful space to sort through life changes, grief, or relationship concerns.

Finding the right mix of techniques is a shared process. The therapist works with each person to pick approaches that match their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they track what helps and adjust the plan over time.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text messaging let clients send thoughts or questions between sessions and fit care into a busy day. These options increase flexibility and make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or medical appointments.