About Sharlene
Sharlene Duplessis uses trauma-informed, skills-based therapies to guide people through healing and change. She is a Connecticut clinician with 16 years of practice as an LCSW and an emphasis on practical tools. Sharlene focuses on helping people manage anxiety, mood concerns, and stress while building clearer coping skills and stronger self-regard.
Her approach blends Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy with EMDR and motivational techniques. Sessions often include skill practice, brief problem-solving, and processing of painful memories when that fits the person's goals.
How Sharlene works
The work centers on what someone can do differently right away to feel steadier. Sharlene supports people facing trauma and abuse, post-traumatic stress, depression, bipolar concerns, and difficulties with anger or self-harm. She also addresses relationship and family matter themes like communication problems, blended family issues, divorce and separation, and family of origin concerns.
Parents who are coping with the demands of raising children can get concrete strategies for day-to-day stress. People looking for help with career stress, life purpose, midlife questions, or isolation may find a practical, goal-oriented way forward. Sharlene pays attention to guilt, shame, and issues around self-love and forgiveness.
She emphasizes small, steady steps and celebrates incremental progress. Therapy can be delivered through video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Sessions are part of a subscription model that can be canceled at any time, and international clients may be supported in English.
Sharlene lists 6 ways of working on the entry:
What Sharlene works with
The areas below are the ones Sharlene selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Trauma and abuse
- Anger management
- Self esteem
Also listed
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Career difficulties
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Relationship issues
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Stress, Anxiety
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 16 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Connecticut |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Evidence-based approaches for online trauma and coping work
Sharlene often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify unhelpful thoughts and develop different behaviors. CBT focuses on practical steps and homework to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and change day-to-day patterns that cause distress.She also applies Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to build emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and better interpersonal effectiveness. DBT techniques are useful when strong emotions, anger, or self-harm urges interfere with daily life.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is offered when trauma processing fits the person's goals; EMDR works by helping the brain reprocess painful memories so they feel less overwhelming. It is used alongside skills work rather than on its own.
Choosing the right method is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk through preferences, goals, and what feels most manageable, and then tailor sessions to those needs. People can expect to try approaches and adjust them over time until a good fit is found.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for a face-to-face feel and detailed skill teaching. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text-based messaging let someone get brief support between sessions or communicate when scheduling is tight. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life.
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Common questions
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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.
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