Carole LaFreniere

Carole LaFreniere is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. She supports those coping with addiction, relationship and intimacy concerns, parenting strain, and career or life transitions. Carole also works with people living with ADHD, bipolar concerns, and compassion fatigue. She uses a practical, down-to-earth approach and aims to build a strong working relationship with each person.

Carole earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and holds the credentials LCSW and CSW. She has eight years of experience in mental health, including work with inpatient psychiatric care and community-based individual therapy. Her background includes training in EMDR and Cognitive Processing Therapy, and additional coursework in trauma, grief, and integrative mental health care.

In sessions she blends several approaches to fit each person’s needs. Methods include cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thoughts, client-centered practices to honor each person's experience, mindfulness-based exercises to reduce reactivity, and tools from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to clarify values and action. Carole emphasizes collaboration when setting goals and crafting a plan.

She takes a strengths-based view and considers how a person’s environment affects their challenges. Sessions are described as non-judgmental, with room for empathy and even a bit of humor. Carole schedules some evening and weekend appointments to help working adults fit therapy into their lives.

If someone is ready to begin, she asks them to start by completing a short matching questionnaire and then schedule based on availability.

How therapeutic approaches fit into online care

Carole commonly uses Mindfulness Therapy to help people notice their thoughts and bodily reactions without judgment, which can reduce reactivity and improve coping with stress and anxiety. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) shows people how to clarify what matters to them and take small, values-driven steps even when emotions are difficult. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and testing them with practical behavioral experiments to ease depression and anxiety.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods match their goals, needs, and preferences. That plan can shift as progress is made or as life circumstances change.

Confirm the current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, for example by reducing travel time or allowing appointments during a lunch break or after work. It can also let people try shorter check-ins or choose a quieter setting at home when they need it. Licensed professionals can adapt mindfulness exercises, ACT strategies, and CBT tools for remote sessions so clients can practice skills between meetings.