About Gretchen
Gretchen Raring is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in New Jersey. She brings 24 years of experience helping people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strains, depression, grief, addiction concerns, and ADHD. She aims to build a trusting, honest connection and meet each person where they are.
Gretchen draws on straightforward, practical methods. Sessions typically mix listening with tools clients can try between meetings.
Background and approach
She emphasizes acceptance and authenticity while helping clients set concrete, achievable goals. Her background includes work across mental health, addiction, homelessness, incarceration, and veteran settings. That variety shaped a flexible style that adapts to different life situations and needs.
Gretchen focuses on using what works for each person rather than one fixed method. People who choose her can expect a collaborative process. She helps people talk through emotions, identify patterns that cause struggle, and practice new ways of responding.
The aim is steady progress rather than quick fixes. Gretchen holds a Master of Arts in Social Work from Temple University. She uses evidence-informed approaches such as cognitive behavior techniques, acceptance and commitment ideas, attachment-focused work, and emotion-focused strategies to support change and growth.
Therapeutic approaches and online care
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice and accept difficult thoughts and feelings while taking action toward what matters. It often suits people coping with anxiety, depression, ADHD-related struggles, or life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and trying new responses; it is practical for stress, mood concerns, sleep problems, and coping skills practice. Emotionally-Focused Therapy centers on emotions and relationship patterns, helping people improve connection and manage intimacy-related issues and communication problems.Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Gretchen collaborates with each person to pick methods that fit their goals and preferences. She starts with listening, then suggests approaches and adjusts them as progress is made so therapy remains relevant and useful.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to offer flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for deeper emotional work. Phone sessions can be a good shorter option or when bandwidth is limited. Live chat or messaging works for quick check-ins, coaching-style support, and people who prefer typed communication. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and different daily routines.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Trauma and abuse
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 24 years
- Licensed
- New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Arizona
- Languages
- English
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