About Charlene
Charlene Thiede is a licensed social worker with 37 years of experience. She practices in Iowa as an LMSW and LISW and focuses on helping people manage stress and anxiety along with other life challenges. Her style is straightforward and strengths-based.
She begins by meeting clients where they are and building on what already works for them. Charlene uses a person-centered approach that keeps the client's goals in view. She combines practical techniques with conversations that help people name their priorities.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to identify specific changes clients want and small steps to get there. Her early career as a school social worker shaped how she notices problems that affect daily life. She also provided behavioral health counseling in personal and agency settings, working with children, adolescents, and adults in those roles.
That background informs her work with parenting, family, and school-related concerns. Charlene draws on several approaches to tailor care. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address thinking patterns, Dialectical Behavior Therapy for emotion regulation skills, and Motivational Interviewing to support change.
Mindfulness and solution-focused techniques also appear when useful. People who seek practical strategies and calm, steady guidance tend to fit well with her approach. Sessions move at a pace set by the client, with attention to clear goals and usable tools.
The focus stays on helping people regain confidence and cope with life changes.
How therapy approaches translate to online care
Charlene uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and many daily problems because it focuses on clear steps and practice.She also draws on Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness. DBT-based tools are practical when strong feelings or relationship friction get in the way of goals.
Finding the right approach is collaborative. Charlene will talk with each person about their needs and goals and try methods that fit. Together they set priorities and adjust techniques based on what helps most.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to give flexibility. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and skill practice, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can support brief check-ins or between-session work. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to practice skills in real time.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 37 years
- Licensed
- Michigan, Iowa
- Languages
- English
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