About Valerie
Valerie Johnson-Cardoso is a licensed mental health counselor with 30 years of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and ADHD. She practices in Florida and has worked in a range of settings, including residential mental health and substance use programs.
Valerie also taught for 16 years, supporting students with learning differences, autism, and emotional challenges while running an evening independent practice. She works with adults across many life stages and backgrounds.
Background and approach
Valerie draws on straightforward, practical ways to reduce day-to-day strain. She focuses on small, manageable steps people can use right away. Therapy centers on clear communication, identifying unhelpful self-criticism, and building healthier responses to life’s demands.
Her background includes school-based work, home and day-treatment visits, and agency practice in Pennsylvania as well as clinical roles in Florida. That breadth gives her a practical view of how challenges show up at work, at home, and in school settings. She uses a mix of client-centered listening and structured methods to help people notice patterns and try new behaviors.
Valerie emphasizes teamwork with each person to choose approaches that fit their goals and daily routines. Valerie is especially interested in helping people who struggle with identity, faith transitions, and the harsh inner critic that undermines self-worth. Her aim is to build trust so people can speak freely and practice new ways of coping.
Sessions emphasize steady progress rather than quick fixes. Valerie helps people learn skills, test them in real life, and adjust as needed. She frames change as a process and supports clients through each step.
How her approaches translate to online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters most and take small steps toward those values while noticing painful thoughts without letting them control behavior. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on spotting unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors to change mood and functioning. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) centers on understanding emotional responses and improving how people express needs and connect with others.Choosing an approach is a collaborative process. Valerie will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they decide which approach or combination to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video is useful when visual cues matter, while phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a quieter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging are helpful for shorter check-ins, ongoing skill practice, or when someone prefers not to be on camera. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, school, and family demands.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Hypnotherapy
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 30 years
- Licensed
- Florida
- Languages
- English
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