Therapist profile
Kristen Buongiorno, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Anxiety and Family concerns
Continue with KristenAbout
- CBT
- Mindfulness
- DBT skills
About Kristen
Kristen Buongiorno is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in New Jersey with 14 years of clinical experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, relationship and family concerns, and related issues people commonly face at home. Kristen also works with people coping with grief, caregiver strain, life changes, and challenges connected to sexual health and identity.
She approaches work in a straightforward, person-focused way. Kristen emphasizes the link between thoughts and behavior and uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice patterns and test different responses. She also uses mindfulness practices to help with grounding and emotion regulation, and elements of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for skills around distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Kristen aims to be direct and practical in sessions. She is willing to have hard conversations when they are needed and helps people put together concrete plans for safety or change. Expect work on specific goals, skill practice between sessions, and ongoing review of what is helping.
Her practice includes attention to issues that often affect parents and adults managing household responsibilities, such as communication problems, caregiver stress, and balancing work and family roles. She also sees people dealing with adoption or foster care histories, body image, sexual culture concerns, first responder or veteran issues, and addictions.
Sessions begin with an assessment of current difficulties and goals. From there she and the client decide on an approach that fits the person’s needs and preferences.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and responding to what matters most to the person. In practice this means the therapist reflects concerns back, asks clarifying questions, and helps the client set their own goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. It helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and try new behaviors to change how they feel. Finding the right approach is part of the work. Kristen will collaborate with the client to choose which methods to try first, based on the person’s goals and what feels manageable. That may mean a mix of skill-building, short experiments between sessions, and checking progress together. Confirm the specific session formats before booking because they are not listed here. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day - sessions can be scheduled around work or childcare, and some formats need less bandwidth or allow shorter check-ins. The focus is on making the work practical and usable in daily life rather than on session logistics alone.Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
14+ years
Listed in
New Jersey
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she work with?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, depression, addictions, relationship and family concerns, and a range of related issues such as caregiver stress and grief.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach is direct and practical, using client-centered discussion alongside techniques from CBT, mindfulness, and DBT skills to address problems and build skills.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 14 years of clinical experience working with diverse concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, and veteran-related issues.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, licensed in New Jersey.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
She does not accept international clients; sessions are offered in English and are intended for those within her licensed jurisdiction.
What session formats does she offer?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as formats are not specified here.
How does her pricing work?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin scheduling a first session?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule your initial session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.