- Attachment-based methods
- Cognitive behavioral tools
- Mindfulness practice
About Valerie
Valerie LaPorte is a licensed clinical social worker (LICSW) in Minnesota with 21 years of professional experience. She has spent over two decades working directly with people facing a wide range of struggles, and she is an approved MN Board of Social Work clinical and non-clinical licensing supervisor.
Valerie works with concerns such as stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, addictions, and problems with sleep. She also supports people dealing with relationship and family strains, intimacy issues, parenting stress, anger, low self-esteem, bipolar disorder, compassion fatigue, and ADHD. Her practice includes additional focuses like abandonment, adoption and foster care, attachment issues, caregiver stress, body image, and communication problems.
Her style is client-centered and goal-directed. She emphasizes approachability, focused listening, and practical problem solving during sessions. Valerie draws on attachment-based methods, cognitive behavioral ideas, dialectical behavior strategies, and mindfulness practices to guide the work.
Past work includes long-term experience with people who have serious mental illness, and with a broad age range. She has worked with individuals affected by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, incarceration, disability-related concerns, and complex co-occurring conditions.
In practice she uses targeted strategies to set clear goals and track progress. She helps people identify manageable steps, build skills for emotion regulation, and clarify values for relationships and daily life. To begin, people complete a short questionnaire and schedule a first session to see how the fit feels.
How attachment, CBT, and mindfulness translate to online sessions
Attachment-based work looks at how early and current relationships shape feelings and expectations. Online conversations can help identify patterns in relationships and practice different ways of connecting and setting boundaries.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In sessions she might use exercises to spot unhelpful thinking, test new ideas, and build small behavioral experiments to reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Mindfulness therapy teaches attention skills that reduce reactivity and improve emotional awareness. Simple practices and short guided exercises can be introduced during sessions to help with stress, sleep, and impulsive reactions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that match goals, preferences, and the problems they want to solve. That process can include trying techniques from different approaches and adjusting as needed.
Session formats are not detailed in the biography, so confirm the current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into school, work, or busy schedules and to practice skills between meetings. Some formats may be shorter check-ins, phone calls that use less bandwidth, or video sessions for in-depth skill work - ask about options when you sign up.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
21+ years
Listed in
Minnesota
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, addictions, sleep problems, relationship and family concerns, parenting strain, anger, self-esteem, bipolar, compassion fatigue, and ADHD.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her approach is client-centered and goal-directed, using focused listening and practical problem solving to set and track goals.
How much experience does she have?
She brings 21 years of professional experience and over a decade of clinical practice, including long-term work with people who have serious mental illness.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She holds the LICSW credential and is licensed in Minnesota.
Does she see people who live outside the United States?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
Which session formats are available?
Session formats are not specified here; confirm the current options before booking to know how sessions are delivered.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a 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.