Dr. Vaughn DeCoster, LCSW

Licensed in Arkansas · 31 years in practice

Dr. Vaughn DeCoster welcomes people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, or life changes.

License and registration

LCSW, Arkansas: 3738-C · expires August 2026
NPI: 1689634255 · national provider identifier
Years in practice: 31
Languages: English

Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check any license with the state board and any NPI with the national registry.

About Vaughn

Dr. Vaughn DeCoster welcomes people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, or life changes. He writes plainly and listens carefully to understand each person's concerns.

He encourages small, practical steps and focuses on what helps most in daily life. He is a licensed clinical social worker - LCSW - based in Arkansas with 31 years of clinical experience. He has worked as a therapist and university professor and draws on a variety of methods to address feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Background and approach

He often uses straightforward tools and sometimes creative media such as photography to support progress. Sessions are collaborative. He treats the person in front of him as the expert on their own life and helps design experiments to try new ways of coping.

He aims to be engaged and practical, adapting plans to fit a client’s needs and schedule. Dr. DeCoster’s approach blends attachment-focused work, client-centered listening, cognitive-behavioral techniques, emotionally-focused methods, and mindfulness practices.

This mix helps with trauma, intimacy challenges, compassion fatigue, and long-term patterns like codependency or shame. He also addresses a wide range of concerns including ADHD, career decisions, aging and geriatric issues, caregiver stress, first responder issues, cancer-related distress, and end-of-life matters.

For people in Arkansas who want a direct, experienced clinician to help them sort priorities, he offers practical support and steady guidance.

Focus areas and approaches

Everything Vaughn lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.

Stress, Anxiety
Relationship issues
Trauma and abuse
Intimacy-related issues
Compassion fatigue
LGBT
Grief
Anger management
Self esteem
Career difficulties
Depression
Coping with life changes
Coaching
ADHD
Abandonment
Aging and geriatric issues
Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Cancer
Caregiver issues and stress
Co-morbidity
Codependency
Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
Emptiness
Fatherhood issues
First responder issues
Guilt and shame
Hospice and end-of-life counseling
Isolation / loneliness
Life purpose
Men's issues
Midlife crisis
Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
Self-harm
Sexuality

Approaches Vaughn names

Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.

Online support

How his approaches translate to online therapy

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns in close relationships and helps people notice how early bonds shape current reactions and needs; it can be useful for addressing intimacy, abandonment, and relationship hurt. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connect and uses practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns, which helps with anxiety, depression, and stress. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and collaboration so clients feel heard and guide the pace and goals of work.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Dr. DeCoster works with each person to pick methods that match their goals and day-to-day life. He treats therapy as a collaboration and adjusts techniques when something is not working until a better fit emerges.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video lets people use visual cues and do deeper conversations. Phone sessions can fit into a short break or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text are useful for ongoing check-ins, brief coaching, or when someone prefers writing to speaking. These options make it easier to keep regular contact and try new strategies between sessions.

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Questions people ask

What kinds of problems does he help with?

He works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, trauma and abuse, compassion fatigue, anger, low self-esteem, career concerns, and coping with life changes.

What is his therapeutic style like?

He combines client-centered listening with attachment work, cognitive-behavioral techniques, emotionally-focused methods, and mindfulness practices to find approaches that fit each person.

How much clinical experience does he have?

He has 31 years of clinical experience and has also worked as a university professor, bringing both practical and teaching perspectives to therapy.

Where is he licensed and practicing?

He holds an LCSW license in Arkansas and provides services from that state.

Which languages are supported for sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can people outside the United States work with him?

He does not accept international clients at this time.

What session formats are available?

He offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.

How are costs and getting started handled?

Cost varies by location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time; to begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to availability.

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