About Laura
Laura Messina is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in New Jersey with 15 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who feel stuck by offering steady, practical support. Her work covers stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship struggles, trauma and depression.
She creates a calm space where people can say what is on their mind without judgment. Sessions are straightforward and goal-oriented. Conversations often include coping skills, planning next steps, and checking progress between visits.
Background and approach
Her style is warm and direct. She listens first, then helps clients pick small, doable steps toward change. Topics she often addresses include caregiver stress, communication problems, guilt, shame, loneliness, and money worries.
For people facing panic attacks, mood shifts, or post-traumatic stress, she combines steady support with practical tools. She also helps during life transitions like pregnancy and midlife change, and with concerns tied to women’s issues and workplace stress. Therapy is a partnership.
Laura aims to help clients build better daily habits, improve relationships, and reduce overwhelming feelings. She encourages realistic goals and honest conversation about what is working and what needs to change.
Approaches that guide online sessions
Laura uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques delivered in plain terms. One common approach focuses on teaching practical coping skills for stress, panic, and mood swings; this involves learning step-by-step strategies to reduce intense feelings and manage daily routines. Another approach emphasizes talk-based work for trauma and relationship concerns, where the therapist helps the client tell their story, notice patterns, and practice new ways of relating to others. Finding the right method is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, try approaches that fit the client’s needs, and adjust plans over time. Clients and the therapist decide collaboratively which techniques feel most helpful. Online formats offer flexibility for real life. Video calls let people read expressions and use face-to-face interaction when that matters. Phone sessions can be easier when internet bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging support brief check-ins or ongoing reminders and make it possible to connect during a busy day. These options help people fit therapy into work, caregiving, or other routines.Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey
- Languages
- English
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