Sharlene Duplessis, LCSW

Sharlene Duplessis, LCSW, uses a trauma-informed, client-centered approach to help people navigate hard life passages. She focuses on helping people build practical coping skills and recognize small steps forward. Her style is direct and compassionate, aimed at steady progress over time.

With 16 years of practice in clinical social work, she has worked mainly in outpatient settings. Her background includes care for people affected by trauma, mood disorders, and stress related to life changes. She helps people who face anxiety, depression, bipolar mood concerns, and issues such as low self-esteem or anger.

Sharlene blends methods from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy to teach concrete tools for emotion regulation and problem solving. She also uses eye movement desensitization and reprocessing when appropriate to address traumatic memories. Motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques guide goal-setting and steps that fit each person's life.

She pays attention to family patterns, communication problems, and the strain that comes from blended households or divorce. Sharlene supports people processing family of origin issues, forgiveness, guilt, and isolation. Midlife concerns and questions about life purpose are further areas she helps people talk through.

Sessions emphasize practical skills, steady pacing, and recognizing small wins. Sharlene encourages a day-by-day approach to change and works collaboratively to set realistic goals. She practices in Connecticut and offers services in English, and she accepts international clients.

Approaches that translate to online care

Sharlene commonly uses cognitive behavioral therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing as part of her work. CBT focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with everyday experiments to reduce anxiety and depression. EMDR involves structured processing of distressing memories and can help people who have lingering trauma symptoms.

She also draws from dialectical behavior therapy skills for emotion regulation and distress tolerance, which teach practical steps for handling strong feelings and relationship stress. Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy process; she works together with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, pacing, and comfort level.

Confirm current session options before booking because the biography does not list specific formats. Online work can help fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and make shorter check-ins possible on a break from work. It also lets people focus on using tools at home and practice skills between meetings. Licensed professionals can guide which format and frequency will best support the goals discussed during the initial matching and scheduling steps.