Therapist profile
Lori Brinkley, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Relationships and Parenting
Continue with LoriAbout
- Stress and anxiety
- Trauma informed work
- Skills and coping
About Lori
Lori Brinkley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in North Carolina with 25 years of experience. She works with adults on concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, parenting challenges, trauma and grief. Lori also addresses career stress, intimacy issues, eating concerns, anger, self-esteem, and compassion fatigue.
Lori uses straightforward, practical conversations to help people find clearer ways forward. She draws on client-centered methods while using cognitive behavioral techniques, mindfulness, dialectical behavior tools, and solution-focused strategies. Sessions often include skills practice, behavior changes, and short-term problem solving alongside deeper work on past hurts.
She offers a direct style that can be gentle when needed and firm when patterns need to change. Humor is part of her approach and she mixes realism with small, achievable steps. Lori also works with people navigating adoption and foster care issues, blended family dynamics, caregiver stress, codependency, and forgiveness.
Her background includes long experience with postpartum concerns, adult children of alcoholics, co-parenting after divorce, and supporting parents balancing work and caregiving roles. She describes a practical focus on communication problems, infidelity, abandonment, and family of origin issues. First responder stress and coping after disasters are also within her stated interests.
Outside work she is a mother, enjoys time outdoors, reading suspense novels, and traveling to find waterfalls. To begin, readers are invited to use the online matching tools to schedule a first session and learn more about how Lori structures care.
How sessions work
Approaches used and how online work can fit into daily life
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and building understanding. It helps people feel heard while identifying what matters most to them and what they want to change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and teaches concrete strategies to change them for issues like anxiety, depression, and stress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, offers practical skills for managing strong emotions, reducing impulsive reactions, and improving relationships. It can be useful when emotions feel overwhelming or when someone needs tools for steadying responses in difficult moments. Choosing a method is a collaborative step. Lori will help figure out what fits best based on goals, current concerns, and personal preferences. That process can include trying different techniques and adjusting the focus as needed. Confirm the exact session formats before booking because the biography does not list them here. In general, online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. Some people prefer phone or video for face-to-face conversation, while others like brief coaching-style sessions between regular appointments. Discussing practical needs during the first meeting helps shape a plan that fits everyday life.Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
North Carolina
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What issues does she focus on?
She addresses stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, parenting concerns, trauma and grief along with related areas such as intimacy issues and caregiver stress.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is direct and practical with room for warmth and humor. She blends client-centered conversations with skills-based methods like CBT and mindfulness.
How much experience does she have?
She has 25 years of clinical experience working with adults on a range of issues including postpartum adjustment, co-parenting after divorce, and family of origin concerns.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in North Carolina and practices from that state.
Can she work with people who speak other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
What session formats does she offer?
Please confirm current session options before booking, as the available formats are not specified here.
How are session costs handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What do I need to do to get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session using the provided scheduling tools.
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.