- Years in practice
- 10
- Credentials
- LPC
- Licensed in
- Michigan
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Addictions
- Focus
- Self esteem
About Laverne
Laverne Santangelo is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Michigan who focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, mood concerns, and parenting challenges. She speaks plainly and aims to create a calm space where clients can talk through what feels overwhelming right now. Her style is collaborative - she listens first, then helps build practical steps forward.
With ten years of clinical experience and a long history of helping roles, she draws on a mix of counseling and coaching approaches.
Background and approach
That background includes work in inpatient settings and community mental health, supporting people with substance use and mood disorders. She also has experience running groups that guide women through major life transitions. Laverne describes her work as person-centered, which means she tailors plans to each individual and meets people where they are.
She often uses cognitive behavioral strategies to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behaviors. Motivational interviewing helps when someone feels stuck or ambivalent about change. She also incorporates mindfulness and practical life-coaching ideas to support daily routines, sleep, and self-care.
Those tools can be helpful for parenting stress, coping with grief, or managing impulsivity and anger. Clients can expect simple exercises and step-by-step goals rather than abstract theory. Outside the therapy room she brings real-life experience with military service and long-term involvement in helping professions.
That history shapes a straightforward, down-to-earth approach focused on small, realistic changes over time.
What Laverne works with
Everything Laverne lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Laverne helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Self esteem
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexuality
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Laverne lists
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
How her approaches translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and tailoring the plan to each person. In online sessions she uses this approach to learn what matters most to the client and to set practical, realistic goals together.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify unhelpful thoughts and habits and replace them with healthier patterns. Online CBT sessions involve simple exercises and homework that can be practiced between meetings to improve mood, sleep, or parenting routines.
Finding the right approach is part of the work and she treats it as a team effort. She will talk with each client about goals, try methods that fit their situation, and adjust based on what helps. That collaborative process makes it easier to pick strategies that actually fit a person's life.
Online sessions include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different needs. Video is useful for full conversations and visual cues, phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat or messaging allow for shorter check-ins and ongoing support, and text sessions can fit into busy days. These options give flexibility for parents balancing schedules, caretakers with limited time, and people who prefer not to use video.
Questions people ask about Laverne
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar mood concerns, addictions, parenting stress, relationship and family issues, grief, trauma, and a range of other life struggles.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is person-centered and collaborative. She listens first, then uses practical tools like cognitive behavioral techniques, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness.
What is her background and clinical experience?
She has ten years of counseling experience and has worked in inpatient settings and community mental health, including work with substance use and severe mood conditions.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds the LPC credential as a Licensed Professional Counselor and practices from Michigan.
Which languages are supported and can international clients connect?
Sessions are offered in English, and she accepts international clients.
What session formats are offered?
She meets via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different schedules and needs.
How does billing and cost work?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Use the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session according to therapist availability.
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