Christina McGuire, LCSW

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on understanding each person’s experience and building a trusting connection. The therapist listens closely and follows the person’s pace to help them find their own solutions, which is useful for relationship concerns and self-esteem work.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps identify unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of thinking and behaving. It is practical and often involves short exercises between sessions to reduce anxiety or manage mood swings.

Emotionally-Focused Therapy centers on emotions and how they shape relationships. It helps people notice patterns in how they react and try new ways of responding to reduce conflict and increase emotional closeness.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with clients about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful, and then adjust methods as progress is made. That collaborative process helps tailor sessions to individual needs.

Online therapy offers flexible options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for longer sessions and visual connection, phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be a quick check-in, and text messaging supports shorter check-ins or ongoing reflection. These formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and keep momentum between meetings.