About LaVerne
LaVerne Merritt-Morrison is a licensed mental health counselor with three decades of practice. She brings long experience in addiction work and dual diagnosis care. Her background includes clinical training in addiction counseling and years supporting people through major life changes.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Services and Counseling and a master’s degree in clinical counseling with a major in Addiction Counseling from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She holds a New York Licensed Mental Health Counselor credential - LMHC.
How LaVerne works
Her training also includes specialized work in compulsive gambling and addiction-related interventions. Her sessions focus on practical steps and honest conversation. She uses motivational interviewing to help people find their reasons to change and cognitive behavioral techniques to challenge unhelpful thoughts and habits.
The work centers on the client and moves at a pace that fits each person’s needs. LaVerne has extensive experience with substance use issues, co-occurring conditions, and long-term recovery supports. She has also spent time in transitional housing settings helping people manage chronic medical and social challenges while working toward stability.
In the room she aims to build trust and emotional safety while addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, relationship stress, parenting concerns, identity and intimacy-related struggles, anger, and trauma. The approach is straightforward, collaborative, and focused on realistic tools that people can use between sessions.
LaVerne lists 3 ways of working on the entry:
What LaVerne works with
The areas below are the ones LaVerne selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Career difficulties
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Midlife crisis
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
Training and background
| Register | LMHC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 30 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | New York |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches for online care
LaVerne uses client-centered work that focuses on each person's goals and experience, letting the person guide the pace and priorities. This approach helps when someone needs to feel heard and understood before making changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. It involves simple exercises and practical skill-building that target anxiety, depression, compulsive behaviors, and unhealthy patterns.
Motivational Interviewing helps people find their own reasons to change. It uses guided questions and reflection to boost motivation for issues like substance use or ambivalence about life changes.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will talk with the client about needs, goals, and preferences and then shape sessions together. That collaborative decision can change over time as new priorities emerge.
Online formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be useful for short check-ins, and text-based messaging supports ongoing brief contact between sessions. These options increase flexibility and let people pick what suits their routine and comfort level.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with LaVerneWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does this therapist address?
What is her therapeutic style?
How much experience does she have?
What credentials and location are listed?
Which languages and international clients are supported?
What session formats are available?
How are costs handled?
How do I begin working with her?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for addictions
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions
Practical therapy for stress and relationship strain