- CBT techniques
- Mindfulness practice
- Career coaching
About Polly
Polly Mortensen is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based in New York with 21 years of experience. She works with adults who are facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, career choices, and identity concerns. Polly also lists support for LGBT issues, ADHD, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting strain, and coping with life changes.
Her background includes long-term work in psychiatric rehabilitation and home-based therapy programs. She has experience with people living with HIV, those in foster care, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. For many years she also practiced vocational and rehabilitation counseling in New York and Florida, offering career and educational coaching.
In sessions she uses straightforward, practical methods. Polly draws on client-centered ideas, cognitive behavioral strategies, dialectical behavior skills, mindfulness exercises, and motivational conversation techniques. She focuses on what someone wants to change and the steps they can try between sessions.
People often meet her when they are making a life transition - starting or changing work, finishing school, dealing with breakup, or adjusting after loss. She also supports those coping with chronic health issues or caregiver stress and people working through attachment or abandonment concerns.
Polly combines talk-based coaching with skills practice. Expect clear goals, short-term strategies when those fit, and longer work for deeper problems. She asks about practical barriers and helps people think through next steps for work, school, and relationships.
How Polly uses therapeutic approaches online
Client-centered work emphasizes listening and building goals the client cares about. It helps people name what matters to them and set small, achievable steps toward change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches concrete exercises to reduce anxiety, low mood, or avoidance.Finding the right approach is part of the process. Polly will work collaboratively to choose strategies that match a client's goals, needs, and daily routine. She often combines short-term skills work with longer conversations when deeper issues need attention.
The profile does not list which session formats are offered, so confirm the current online options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins between work or classes, and remove the need to travel to an office. Therapists can adapt CBT and DBT exercises, mindfulness practices, and motivational conversations to online meetings so clients can practice skills in their everyday settings.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
21+ years
Listed in
New York
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, career and education questions, LGBT issues, ADHD, trauma, grief, parenting strain, and other life changes.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She uses client-centered talk combined with practical tools from CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to set goals and practice skills between sessions.
How much experience does she have?
She has 21 years of clinical experience, including psychiatric rehabilitation, home-based therapy, foster care settings, and vocational rehabilitation work.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is an LMHC licensed in New York and practices from New York.
Does she offer sessions in other languages or to international clients?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
The biography does not list specific session formats; please confirm the current session options before booking.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working together?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule your first session.
Online talk therapy through BetterHelp is for adults aged 18 and over and is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.