Jessica Lareau, LICSW

Jessica Lareau is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) practicing in Massachusetts. She focuses on helping people facing midlife transitions, depression, addiction, relationship strain, and career or parenting stress. Jessica frames the first step as listening and understanding each person's story before planning what comes next.

She uses straightforward, practical methods in sessions. Jessica emphasizes skills people can use between meetings, such as breathing and grounding, clearer communication, and small behavioral changes that add up. She encourages clients to name what matters to them and to move toward those values even when change feels hard.

Jessica has 14 years of experience in behavioral health. That background includes work with people managing addiction, bipolar mood concerns, grief, caregiver stress, compassion fatigue, and co-occurring issues. She brings that experience to conversations about family conflict, blended family dynamics, and the emotional fallout of separation or divorce.

Her practice draws on several approaches. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people spot patterns of thinking that keep them stuck. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy supports making values-based choices. Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Motivational Interviewing offer concrete tools for managing intense emotions and motivation. She also uses psychodynamic ideas to look at long-standing patterns when helpful.

Jessica asks clients to set clear goals and to check progress together. Sessions are collaborative and paced to each person’s needs. To begin, clients follow the site's Start Therapy flow and schedule a time that fits their life.

Approaches that guide online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and build small, steady actions toward those values. It is often used for coping with life changes, low motivation, and general unhappiness. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms. It is practical and skill oriented. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides tools for managing intense emotions and improving communication, which can be useful for relationship stress and self-destructive behaviors.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist works collaboratively to match these methods to a person’s goals, needs, and preferences. Early sessions include talking about what feels most urgent and trying techniques to see what helps in daily life.

Confirm current session formats before booking so you know what options are offered. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let people use techniques in the settings where problems actually occur. Licensed professionals can also adapt exercises for phone or video conversations, or plan homework that fits around work and family commitments.