Stefanie Johnson, LPC

Stefanie Johnson is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Wisconsin. She draws on 14 years in the mental health field to help people manage anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship or family stress. Stefanie takes a straightforward, compassionate approach that aims to help people build practical skills for day-to-day coping.

Before working in outpatient counseling, she gained experience in inpatient hospital care, intensive outpatient programs, in-home therapy, and case management. That variety shaped her ability to respond to different levels of need and to support people facing complex symptoms. She has worked with mood disorders, post-traumatic stress, and severe mental health concerns in addition to more common struggles like low self-esteem and life transitions.

Stefanie’s counseling style centers on meeting people where they are and tailoring work to each person’s goals. Her practice is grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) while also drawing on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness, and client-centered ideas. She uses these methods to help people identify unhelpful patterns, learn new coping skills, and practice changes in daily life.

She also has experience using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma-focused work and brings attention to values, problem solving, and communication skills. Stefanie emphasizes consistent effort over quick fixes and supports people who want practical strategies and honest feedback.

Stefanie stepped away from outpatient work for a few years to care for her young family and now focuses on online counseling as a way to balance clinical work and family life. Her experience includes work with grief, caregiver stress, postpartum concerns, first responder issues, and coping after disasters.

How Stefanie Uses CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness Online

Stefanie grounds much of her work in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and changing behaviors to reduce symptoms like anxiety and depression. CBT often includes hands-on homework and clear steps to try between sessions. She also incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal communication when feelings run high.

Mindfulness techniques are used alongside these approaches to increase awareness of the present moment and reduce reactivity. Mindfulness can help with stress, chronic worry, and handling intense emotions by teaching simple attention and breathing practices that are easy to repeat at home. Stefanie takes a collaborative stance and will work with each person to choose which methods fit their goals and comfort level, adjusting the plan as needed rather than insisting on one single approach.

Online formats make it possible to use these methods in flexible ways. Video sessions are useful for interactive skill teaching and practice, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat is good for shorter check-ins, and text-based messaging supports ongoing check-ins and brief skill reminders. These options help people fit therapy into busy lives and try different ways of working until they find what helps most.