Lori Brinkley, LCSW

Lori Brinkley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with 25 years of experience helping people navigate life’s hard moments. She focuses on practical steps people can use right away. Lori brings a warm, down-to-earth style and a direct approach when needed.

She works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and relationship struggles. Parenting challenges, co-parenting after divorce, adoption and foster care issues, and career strain are part of her day-to-day practice. She also supports people dealing with boundaries, codependency, compassion fatigue, and intimacy concerns.

Lori blends several methods to match each person’s needs. She uses client-centered work to listen and validate. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. She also draws on dialectical behavior therapy skills, mindfulness, and solution-focused strategies to build coping tools.

Her sessions mix encouragement, challenge, and a bit of humor when it fits. Lori describes herself as nurturing but willing to be direct to break long-standing patterns. She sometimes works with one partner in a relationship when the other is not ready to attend, teaching skills to improve communication and boundaries.

Outside of work she spends time outdoors, chases waterfalls, and enjoys reading and movies with her college-age children. Her experience includes helping clients through midlife transitions and the many changes that come with caregiving and divorce. Lori invites people to explore new perspectives while building clear, doable steps toward their goals.

How Lori’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes listening and collaboration. Lori uses this to understand what matters most to each person and to build goals together. It helps when someone needs space to be heard and validated before changing habits.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going. Lori teaches simple exercises to test unhelpful thoughts and try new actions, which can reduce anxiety and low mood over time.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills offer tools for managing strong emotions, improving communication, and tolerating distress. These skills are useful for people who want concrete techniques to lessen overwhelm and improve relationships.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. Lori will talk with each person about their goals, try approaches that fit, and adjust plans together. She aims to match methods to what the client needs and prefers rather than using one fixed style.

Practical benefits of online work include fitting sessions into a busy schedule and reducing travel time. Online sessions can make it easier to keep regular appointments around work or caregiving responsibilities. Because session formats are not listed here, confirm current online options before booking so you know what’s offered and can choose what works best for your routine.