Denise Owen, LCSW

Denise Owen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with decades of experience helping people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship problems, parenting challenges, and everyday thought patterns and habits. She works with individuals facing addiction, trauma, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and worries about intimacy, sleep, eating, and career stress. Denise approaches people with respect and patience, and she focuses on practical goals rather than labels. She began in social work in 1986 and earned a Master of Social Work in 1990. Denise has practiced in inpatient and outpatient settings across several states, including work in psychiatric hospitals, medical hospitals, a military base, and outpatient agencies. That range gives her experience with hospice patients, long-term psychiatric care, domestic violence, and substance use concerns. In sessions she likes to assess each person first and then decide together what to try. She aims to build rapport before moving into specific techniques and will change course if an approach doesn’t fit. That collaborative stance helps people feel heard while working toward clear, manageable goals. Denise uses a mix of well-known methods such as acceptance and commitment work, cognitive behavioral tools, dialectical behavior strategies, client-centered listening, and mindfulness practices to address thoughts and everyday habits. She continues to attend seminars and conferences to maintain her North Carolina LCSW license and broaden her clinical perspective. Outside of practice she has taught community college courses and homeschool classes, and she has published two children’s books. She encourages people to treat therapy like exercise - it can feel hard at first, and then it becomes useful and sometimes even rewarding.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Denise uses a mix of approaches that focus on thoughts, values, and present-moment skills. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and commit to actions that match their values, which can help with anxiety, grief, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses straightforward exercises to shift patterns related to anxiety, depression, sleep, and eating. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and support better coping with stress and cravings. Finding the right approach is part of the work. She will talk with a client about goals and preferences, try methods that fit, and adjust as needed. That collaborative process helps people learn what changes feel useful and sustainable. The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm current options before booking. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, or allow for shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. Some people prefer audio-only conversations when they want a quicker connection without video, while others find video helps maintain eye contact and nonverbal cues. Licensed professionals can adapt ACT, CBT, and mindfulness exercises to remote work so practical skills and homework remain part of the process.