Tonya Wacker, LPC, LPCC

Tonya Wacker is a Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC, with 14 years of counseling experience. She focuses on helping people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, grief, or difficult life changes. Tonya aims to help clients notice their strengths and build practical steps toward a brighter day-to-day life.

She uses a mix of approaches that include cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered work, dialectical behavior therapy, existential ideas, and mindfulness. Sessions emphasize clear goals, practical skills, and real-world coping strategies. Tonya often helps people challenge unhelpful thinking and practice new ways of responding to hard moments.

Her style is collaborative and straightforward. She listens for what matters most to each person and adapts tools to fit their situation. She also incorporates creative methods when they feel helpful, with an eye toward rebuilding hope and curiosity.

Tonya works with a wide range of concerns including relationship struggles, depression, addiction, trauma and abuse, sexual identity and intimacy-related issues, parenting strain, career stress, and compassion fatigue. She also addresses specific topics such as aging, abandonment, BDSM and kink-related concerns, HIV/AIDS, first responder issues, and midlife changes.

Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients. People who want practical skills, honest feedback, and a tailored plan to move forward may find her approach a good fit.

Approaches that guide online work

Tonya commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and practice new responses; this approach often suits issues like anxiety, depression, and stress. She also draws on client-centered therapy, which focuses on listening closely and building a trusting, nonjudgmental space so clients can set their own goals. Dialectical behavior therapy is used when emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance skills are a priority, such as with intense mood swings or relationship struggles.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Tonya will discuss your goals and preferences, try methods that seem likely to help, and adjust the plan based on what works. The focus is on practical skills and clear steps that match each person's circumstances.

Online therapy here can be done by video call, phone session, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video calls work well for deeper conversations and skill practice, while phone sessions may be easier during a busy day or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging are useful for short check-ins, coaching-style support, or when typing feels more comfortable. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, family, or travel.