- Client-centered methods
- CBT and DBT skills
- Mindfulness practice
About Karen
Karen Pelligra is a New York LMHC with 22 years of clinical experience. She works with people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, grief, trauma and a range of related concerns. Karen uses straightforward, person-focused methods and aims to help people take practical steps when life feels overwhelming.
She has provided counseling in outpatient community mental health clinics, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and home-based family services. That range of settings means she is used to short-term crisis work and longer-term therapeutic conversations. Sessions often focus on identifying what is most pressing and learning skills to manage emotions and interactions.
Her approach draws from client-centered methods, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness practices, and motivational interviewing. In practice this looks like listening closely, helping people test unhelpful thoughts, building emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills, and supporting motivation for change.
Karen helps people with practical life problems such as divorce and separation, parenting challenges, adoption and foster care issues, chronic illness and pain, and the strain that comes from caregiving or first responder work. She also addresses mood disorders, panic attacks, obsessive thoughts and compulsions, postpartum depression, and seasonal mood changes.
Sessions are aimed at clear goals and useful skills. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session so they can see how the work fits their life and needs.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online sessions
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting back what someone is experiencing so they feel heard and understood. Online sessions using this approach keep attention on the person’s concerns and preferences, and use conversation to clarify goals and next steps.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Online CBT sessions commonly include tracking patterns, practicing new skills between meetings, and using short exercises to test unhelpful thoughts. Dialectical behavior therapy, DBT, adds practical emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills that can be practiced in real life and reviewed in session.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to choose methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences. That means trying approaches, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together.
Confirm current session options before booking, since specific formats are not listed here. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. They also make it simpler to review homework or practice skills between meetings so the work can fit into everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
22+ years
Listed in
New York
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family problems, grief, trauma, eating concerns, addictions, and related issues such as panic attacks and OCD.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her style blends client-centered listening with practical skills training from CBT and DBT, plus mindfulness and motivational interviewing to support change.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 22 years of experience in community mental health clinics, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and home-based family services.
Where is she licensed and based?
She is a New York LMHC and practices from New York.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people from other countries work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to start?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.