- Relationship help
- Family concerns
- Practical tools
About Joanne
Joanne Waithaka is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 28 years of clinical experience. She helps people who are struggling with relationship problems, family conflict, parenting stress, depression, trauma, and major life changes. Her approach is practical and down-to-earth, aimed at helping clients find clearer ways forward.
Joanne focuses on real-world concerns like communication breakdowns, blending families, and the emotional fallout of divorce or separation. She also works with people coping with abandonment, attachment issues, immigration stress, and the particular challenges that can come with aging. Adoption and foster care are listed among her additional areas of focus.
Her style is collaborative and goal-oriented. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and make changes that matter. Narrative Therapy helps clients reframe difficult stories about themselves and their relationships.
Joanne also draws on Solution-Focused and Systemic Therapy techniques to map patterns and identify small, practical steps that lead to improvement. Sessions aim to build stronger communication, reduce conflict, and support personal growth.
She holds an MA and practices as an LMFT in Virginia and North Carolina. Joanne emphasizes work that fits a client’s life and goals, helping people move through transitions with clearer plans and more confidence.
How therapeutic approaches guide online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people identify what matters most to them and take small guided steps toward those values. It is useful for coping with depression, life transitions, and ongoing stress by focusing on actions rather than getting stuck in thoughts.Narrative Therapy looks at the stories people tell about themselves and their relationships. By separating a person from a problem, this approach can reduce shame and open space for new perspectives on adoption, family history, or identity issues.
Finding the right approach is a collaboration. Joanne will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most helpful. Together they adjust methods over time so sessions match the client’s needs.
Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, for example by reducing travel time or allowing shorter check-ins during a break. It can also let people join from different places within the same state. Confirm current session options before booking to learn which formats are offered and how scheduling works.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
28+ years
Credentials
Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does this therapist address?
Joanne supports people facing relationship issues, family conflict, parenting stress, depression, trauma and life transitions. She also lists adoption and foster care among her additional focus areas.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style is collaborative and practical. She favors short-term, goal-oriented work alongside deeper narrative work when needed.
How long has she been practicing?
She brings 28 years of professional experience working with individuals and families on relationship and life-change concerns.
What credentials and location are listed?
She holds an MA and practices as an LMFT. Her listed location is Virginia and she also has licensure noted for North Carolina in her background.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Are international clients taken?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin therapy?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.