About Virginia
Virginia Ballantyne is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who focuses on practical, person-focused care. She uses straightforward methods to help people manage anxiety, stress, depression, relationship struggles, and life transitions. Virginia aims to create a calm space where people can talk, learn skills, and make steady changes.
She draws on Client-Centered Therapy to meet people where they are. That means she listens first and shapes sessions around each person's goals.
Background and approach
She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to identify unhelpful thinking and try new behaviors that reduce distress. Virginia has 12 years of experience in non-profit and county mental health work. That background includes supporting people affected by intimate partner violence, trauma, substance-related family problems, and other difficult life events.
She describes her style as nonjudgmental and strengths-based, helping people access what already works for them. Her practice is sex-positive and LGBTQ+ affirming, so conversations about sexual identity and intimacy can be raised openly. She also lists focused areas such as grief, parenting concerns, caregiver stress, and addiction-related issues when they come up for an individual.
Sessions are offered to people who live in California and take place by video call, phone, live chat, or text messaging. Virginia encourages a collaborative approach where the person and therapist decide together on goals and the strategies to reach them.
Approaches that fit online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and building a collaborative relationship so the person sets the pace and goals. That approach helps when someone wants a compassionate space to talk through anxiety, relationship worries, or life changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and behaviors influence feelings, and then tests small changes to reduce distress. CBT can be useful for anxiety, stress, depression, and addiction-related patterns.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) adds skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and clearer communication, which can help when feelings feel overwhelming or when relationships are strained.
Choosing which method to use is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, try approaches that fit the person's needs, and adjust methods as progress is made. This collaborative process helps find what feels most useful.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for skill demonstrations, phone sessions use less bandwidth and can fit a work break, live chat suits shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing, low-intensity contact. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while keeping the focus on practical strategies and steady progress.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Career difficulties
Also listed
- Addictions
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- HIV / AIDS
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 12 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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