Grace Szeja

Grace Szeja is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, and major life transitions. She supports clients dealing with grief, trauma, parenting strain, career uncertainty, and identity questions, including those who identify as LGBT. Grace uses plain conversation, creative activities, and practical tools to help people feel more steady and in control.

Grace brings ten years of clinical social work experience, including time in hospital settings where she worked with a wide age range. She prefers a client-centered stance and listens first to understand what matters most to each person. From there she blends talk therapy with hands-on, expressive work drawn from her background in the arts.

Her practice often combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills with attachment-informed ideas. That can look like noticing unhelpful thought patterns, practicing new coping strategies, and using simple art exercises to access feelings that are hard to put into words. Sessions aim to build new habits, reduce shame, and strengthen self-care routines.

Grace also draws on her personal experience as a former fine artist and comic illustrator to offer creative options like zendoodle, journaling, sand tray, drawing, painting, and clay. These activities are used alongside evidence-based tools to help people name emotions and try different ways of responding to stress.

Outside of work she enjoys gardening, distance running, and hiking, and she shares her home with three cats and two rabbits. She uses she/her pronouns and practices with compassion and respect for people from varied backgrounds and identities.

Approaches that translate well to online therapy

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships shape current connection and safety. Online sessions can use conversation and reflective questions to notice patterns, repair ruptures, and practice new ways of relating to oneself and others.

Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental relationship. In this approach the therapist follows the client's lead, offers empathic listening, and helps people arrive at their own solutions. It is useful for building self-trust and exploring values and identity.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical tools to change unhelpful patterns. CBT exercises can be assigned between sessions and reviewed together to track progress and adjust strategies.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they will try techniques and adjust the plan if something isn't helpful.

Confirm which session formats are available before booking, since the original profile does not list specific options. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It can also allow people to use quieter surroundings or phone-only sessions when camera use is not preferred.