Nicole Guessford, LCSW

Nicole Guessford is a licensed clinical social worker with 23 years of experience. She works with people coping with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting strains, and relationship concerns. Her approach is direct and practical. She emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and a steady, structured process to help clients make changes.

Nicole adapts conversations and treatment plans to each person’s needs. She brings a holistic perspective while using clear, goal-focused steps. Clients can expect actionable suggestions and regular skills to practice between sessions. Homework is often assigned to support real-world change.

Her clinical background includes work with depression, grief, sleep and eating concerns, anger, self-esteem, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. She also addresses attachment issues, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, and post-traumatic stress. Nicole helps people navigate life transitions, infidelity, divorce and communication breakdowns.

Nicole is licensed in Pennsylvania and Virginia as an LCSW - Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She provides telehealth sessions only, offered on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule according to insurance rules. Sessions are not conducted by phone or messaging.

Starting therapy includes selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a brief matching questionnaire, and scheduling based on availability. Costs vary with location and use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

How Nicole’s approaches work in online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people notice their thoughts and choose values-driven actions. It’s useful for anxiety, depression, and stress when someone wants tools to move forward despite difficult thoughts. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is often helpful for anxiety, sleep problems, and low mood. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to how early relationships shape current patterns and can help with intimacy, trust, and relational struggles.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy and a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to pick methods that match their goals, needs, and comfort level. That may mean combining techniques and adjusting the plan as progress is made.

Nicole provides telehealth sessions only and schedules people for weekly or bi-weekly appointments under insurance rules. Because session formats are determined by the therapist's practice and insurance, please confirm current session options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit regular appointments into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow focused, skills-based work during allotted session times.