About Brenda
Brenda Atkinson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 31 years of experience. She provides calm, straightforward support for people facing mood changes, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and addiction. Brenda aims to help people move through life transitions with more clarity and confidence.
Her background includes studies in psychology and social work at the University of Louisville, with emphasis on family systems. She combines practical tools from cognitive-behavioral approaches with attention to emotions and relationships.
Background and approach
Sessions balance structured skills work and open conversation. Brenda often helps people who are coping with relationship problems, parenting stress, blended family concerns, and career shifts. She also supports those dealing with compassion fatigue, attachment worries, and complex grief.
Her work includes focus areas such as codependency, communication difficulties, and coping after major disruptions. In the room she keeps things direct and respectful. She listens for what matters most and helps people set realistic goals.
Practical coping strategies are offered alongside space to reflect on meaning and values. Brenda works with adults across life stages, including those navigating early adulthood, middle age, and later life changes. Her aim is to help each person find tools that fit their daily life and to build on the strengths they already have.
How Brenda's Approaches Work Online
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early and current relationships shape feelings and reactions. Online sessions can help people understand attachment patterns and practice new ways of relating in daily life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at thought patterns and behaviors to reduce symptoms like anxiety and depression through clear, skill-based exercises you can use between sessions. Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people identify and name strong emotions and change interaction patterns that cause pain in relationships. Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Brenda will talk with each person about their goals and try different methods to see what helps most. That process is collaborative - clients and the therapist decide what to focus on and adjust as needed. Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls are useful for face-to-face conversation and nonverbal cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a speaker-only check-in is preferred. Live chat and text-based messaging allow shorter, more frequent check-ins and can fit into busy days. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or travel.Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 31 years
- Licensed
- Georgia, Virginia
- Languages
- English