Valerie LaPorte, LICSW

Valerie LaPorte is a licensed clinical social worker (LICSW) based in Minnesota. She brings 21 years of professional experience to her practice and uses clear, goal-focused methods to help people facing a wide range of problems.

Her style is warm and practical. She listens closely and helps people set doable goals. Sessions focus on problem solving, building strengths, and learning skills to manage day-to-day struggles.

Valerie draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, attachment-based ideas, dialectical behavior techniques, client-centered methods, and mindfulness tools. She tailors these approaches to each person's situation and creates a treatment plan that fits their needs and pace.

Her background includes long experience with people who have serious mental health challenges as well as work across the lifespan. She has helped with depression, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, sleep problems, parenting strain, addiction concerns, relationship and intimacy issues, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and caregiver stress among other concerns.

Sessions can include skills practice, short-term solutions, and longer-term work depending on what a person hopes to achieve. She values dignity, respect, and compassion in every session and aims to help people feel heard and more capable of moving forward.

Valerie accepts clients in Minnesota and supports international clients in English. She also provides supervision for social work licensing in Minnesota as part of her clinical background.

How Valerie’s approaches work online

Valerie commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Attachment-Based and client-centered approaches in online work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. Attachment-Based ideas look at how early relationships affect current patterns and help people build more secure ways of relating. Client-centered therapy centers sessions on the person’s own goals and pace, with the therapist offering respectful listening and support.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Valerie collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences. She may blend short-term skills work with deeper, attachment-focused or client-centered work depending on what the person wants to accomplish.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video sessions allow face-to-face skill practice and interactive discussion. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or for a quieter check-in. Live chat and text messaging can support short updates, coaching between sessions, or people who prefer written communication. These options give flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels while keeping therapy practical and goal-focused.