About Tara
Tara Wagner is a licensed clinical social worker in Indiana with twelve years of experience in behavioral health. She has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings, medication-assisted treatment programs, and academic environments. Tara focuses on helping people who are struggling with addiction, mood concerns, anxiety, and trauma.
She approaches each person with respect and compassion. Tara believes every person has inherent worth. She tailors conversations and treatment plans to each person’s needs.
Background and approach
That might mean short-term goal work or longer, deeper talks depending on what helps most. She aims to make therapy practical and relevant to everyday life. Her background includes work with chemical and behavioral addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions.
She has supported people coping with depression, bipolar disorder, personality-related struggles, and the effects of short- and long-term trauma. She also addresses topics such as grief, intimacy issues, parenting strain, and problems tied to communication and commitment. In sessions Tara draws from several approaches to fit the person in front of her.
She uses client-centered methods to make space for a person’s experience. She applies solution-focused strategies for clear short-term goals and cognitive behavioral ideas for changing unhelpful thinking and behavior. Tara works in English and provides online options.
She asks a few questions at the start to match goals and style, then plans sessions that are straightforward and goal-oriented. Taking the first step can feel hard, and she aims to make it easier to get support.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening closely and following the person's lead. It helps when someone needs a nonjudgmental space to sort feelings and make decisions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and actions and teaches concrete strategies to change unhelpful patterns. It is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping skills. Motivational Interviewing helps people find their own reasons for change and build motivation, especially around substance use or other behavior changes.Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to identify goals, try different techniques, and adjust plans based on what feels most helpful. That means starting with a conversation about needs and preferences, then trying practical steps and checking in often.
Online formats make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversations across distances. Phone sessions can be a simpler option when video is not possible. Live chat and text-based messaging offer shorter check-ins, quick support between sessions, and flexibility when schedules are tight. These options let people access therapists from home, work, or elsewhere with less travel and more timing choices.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- 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
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 12 years
- Licensed
- Indiana
- Languages
- English