About LaVerne
LaVerne Merritt-Morrison is a licensed mental health counselor with three decades of experience. She practiced for many years supporting people affected by substance use and related life challenges. Her background includes training in addiction counseling and a long history of work with people who face complex, overlapping concerns.
She combines a client-centered attitude with motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy. That means she focuses on each person's goals, uses questions that build motivation, and helps people change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
Background and approach
Sessions tend to be straightforward and goal-focused while staying grounded in the client's experience. LaVerne has substantial experience in substance use therapy and dual diagnosis work. She also has experience with compulsive gambling, transitional housing, and supporting people with chronic medical needs.
Her work often addresses related issues such as shame, impulsivity, isolation, and relationship strain. In a session she listens first, then helps people set small, practical steps. Conversations are paced to match what a person can manage that week.
She pays attention to how feelings and behavior connect, and she helps clients try different ways of coping. People who reach out can expect a blend of encouragement and concrete tools. The aim is steady progress rather than quick fixes.
LaVerne works from New York and offers services that can fit different schedules and life demands.
How her approaches work in online therapy
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening closely and meeting people where they are. The therapist follows the client's lead, respects their pace, and helps clarify what they want to change or feel differently about. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behavior connect; it uses simple exercises and experiments to reduce anxiety, depression, and unhelpful patterns. Motivational Interviewing is a conversational method that helps people strengthen their own reasons for change by exploring ambivalence and building motivation.Deciding which approach to use is a shared process. The therapist will talk with each person about their goals and preferences, try methods that seem to fit, and adjust over time if something isn't helping. That way the plan grows out of what the person needs and what feels manageable.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth work and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text are helpful for brief support, reflections between sessions, or when typing feels more comfortable. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, and travel schedules while keeping continuity of care.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does this therapist address?
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
What is her professional background?
What credentials and location are listed?
Are sessions offered in other languages or internationally?
Which session formats are available?
How does payment and cost work for sessions?
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Career difficulties
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Midlife crisis
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 30 years
- Licensed
- New York
- Languages
- English