01 · Who Valerie works with

Valerie works with stress, Anxiety, grief and self esteem

Valerie lists 12 specialisms and 21 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Valerie chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Valerie's own words

What Valerie says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I am a licensed clinical social worker with 15+ years of experience. I have worked with parents, caregivers, siblings and patients impacted by chronic, life threatening illness, coping with healthcare related traumatic experiences and through grief and bereavement, as well as crisis intervention. I have also worked with individuals working through anxiety, depression and those looking to increase self-esteem. My practice has lead me to engage with others in the healthcare setting, not for profit realm and private practice.

I strive to be a listener, collaborative and practice non-judgement in my interactions with those seeking support. It is my intention to build a relationship with those seeking support and create a space for goal setting and movement toward those goals as defined by those I work with therapeutically. I practice elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, psychodynamic therapy, solutions-based therapy, family dynamics all while encompassing the strengths-based approach.

Whatever the circumstances and motivation leading to seeking therapeutic support, it is important the have goodness of fit with the provider of your choosing. I look forward to the opportunity to engage and explore the thoughts, ideas and environment for healing, self-betterment and contentment.

Valerie Kennedy Lang, on the BetterHelp listing · read 5 Nov 2026

03 · How Valerie works

The 7 approaches Valerie lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Valerie lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Valerie's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Valerie runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Dialectical Behaviour TherapyDBT

A structured skills-led adaptation of CBT built around holding two things at once: accepting yourself as you are and working to change. Teaches concrete skills for distress tolerance, emotion regulation and relationships. Developed for people whose feelings arrive at overwhelming intensity, and strongest-evidenced there.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Valerie practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Valerie's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Valerie at this point.

2. Naming Valerie specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Valerie is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Valerie.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

3 questions worth asking Valerie

Built from what Valerie actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Valerie's - Valerie has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LCSW

Licensed in

Missouri

Licence

MO LCSW 2010029939

Licence number

2010029939

Licence expires

30 Sep 2027

NPI

1801567912

Years in practice

14

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Valerie's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 5 Nov 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Valerie. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.