- Grief and loss
- Blended family issues
- Mindfulness and CBT
About Joelle
Joelle Purdy is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, LICSW, practicing in the District of Columbia with four years of clinical experience. She focuses on grief, loss, stress, anxiety, relationships, parenting concerns, and issues common to caregiving and aging. Joelle also lists blended family issues among her areas of focus and addresses intimacy-related and self-esteem concerns.
She approaches conversations in a direct, person-focused way. Sessions use a mix of client-centered listening, cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused work. That means practical tools, shorter goal-focused conversations, and attention to thoughts, feelings, and everyday routines.
Joelle often works with people processing bereavement, hospice and end-of-life concerns, or caregiver strain. She also helps those dealing with career stress, life changes, guilt, forgiveness, and multicultural or women's issues. The work can include identifying actionable steps, practicing new ways of talking to yourself, and using brief exercises learned between sessions.
Her style emphasizes clear listening and adapting sessions to what the individual needs that week. She aims to help people understand their reactions to loss and to find ways to remember what was important while moving forward. Practical coaching around coping strategies is part of the offering.
Sessions are delivered in English and reflect a focus on real-life problems such as merging households, role changes in blended families, and caregiving responsibilities. Prospective clients should confirm current session formats before booking and follow the site's process to begin.
Therapeutic approaches used in online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and helping people set their own goals. It is a straightforward approach that centers on what someone wants to work on and adapts conversations to those goals.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviors affect mood. It often involves practical exercises and short experiments to test new ways of thinking and coping, useful for anxiety, depression, and stress.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to choose which methods fit best based on goals, needs, and preferences. That may mean mixing techniques from different approaches or shifting focus over time.
Confirm the exact session formats before booking so you know how sessions are arranged. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, allow for shorter check-ins when time is limited, and reduce travel time. Talk with the therapist during the matching process about what will work best for your routine and goals.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
4+ years
Listed in
District of Columbia
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with grief, loss, stress, anxiety, relationship and family concerns including blended family issues, caregiving stress, and end-of-life matters.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is client-centered with practical elements from CBT, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused work to identify steps people can try between sessions.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has four years of clinical experience and holds the LICSW credential in the District of Columbia.
Where is she licensed and what is her credential?
She is a DC LICSW, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in the District of Columbia.
In which languages can she provide services?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with international clients?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions scheduled and what formats are available?
Confirm the current session format options before booking; the site asks you to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
Online talk therapy is for adults and is not emergency care, mediation or legal advice. If you or a child are in danger, use the emergency numbers. Find someone else by name.