Dr. Kristen Pavela, LCSW

Dr. Kristen Pavela is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Wisconsin with a doctorate in social work and ten years of clinical experience. She has spent her career helping people facing stress, anxiety, mood shifts, addiction concerns, and the fallout from trauma and abuse. Her work often focuses on life transitions and complications that come with midlife change.

Her style is warm, interactive, and straightforward. Sessions are conversational and practical. She listens without labeling and tailors the plan to each person’s situation.

Dr. Pavela draws on several approaches to build a treatment plan. She uses Client-Centered Therapy to follow what matters most to the person in the room. She applies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. Motivational Interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change.

She has worked with people dealing with relationship strain, parenting stress, grief, intimacy concerns, and career pressures. Her practice also addresses ADHD, bipolar challenges, sleep and eating problems, and compassion fatigue for caregivers.

People who come to her can expect respectful, focused sessions that aim to make daily life more manageable. She emphasizes collaboration, clear goals, and practical steps. If someone is ready to take a first step toward change, she offers steady support and guidance.

How her approaches shape online therapy

Client-Centered Therapy places the person’s concerns at the center of sessions and guides conversation by what matters most to them. This approach is useful for sorting values, handling relationship and caregiving stress, and working through midlife decisions.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying patterns of thought and behavior that make problems worse and testing new, manageable ways of responding. CBT is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep and eating issues, and coping with life changes.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to pick methods that fit their goals and preferences. That means starting with the client’s priorities, trying strategies, and adjusting the plan together over time.

Confirm the current session options before booking so you know what formats are available. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Many people find remote sessions helpful for keeping momentum during life transitions and maintaining consistent follow-up without rearranging a full day.