Gretchen Raring, LICSW, LCSW

Gretchen Raring is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with more than two decades of practice. She works with adults, teens, older adults, and couples who are struggling with things like stress, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, and intimacy-related concerns. Gretchen aims to build a respectful, down-to-earth connection so people feel understood and heard from the first session.

Her style blends acceptance and practical skill-building. She listens for each person's strengths and priorities, then offers tools that fit everyday life. Sessions often mix talking through emotions with concrete strategies for coping, sleeping better, managing anger, or handling major life changes.

Gretchen's background includes work in mental health, addiction services, homelessness, incarceration settings, and veteran-focused programs. That experience informs a flexible approach when people face complex or overlapping challenges like chronic illness, caregiving stress, codependency, or co-occurring mood disorders.

She commonly draws on therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Emotionally-Focused Therapy. Those methods are used in service of practical goals like improving communication, reducing anxiety, and rebuilding trust after losses or ruptures.

Gretchen practises in New Jersey and carries credentials listed as MA LICSW and ND LCSW. She works collaboratively with each person to choose strategies that match their goals and daily life.

Therapeutic approaches and how they fit online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and build small, meaningful actions that align with those values. It can be useful for anxiety, stress, and navigating life changes by shifting focus toward committed steps rather than getting stuck in unwanted thoughts. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and helps people change interaction habits that harm connection. It often supports work on intimacy, relationship repair, and communication challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Gretchen collaborates with each person to choose approaches that match their goals, needs, and preferences. Sessions begin with practical conversations about what the client wants to change and how they prefer to work, and then the plan is adjusted over time based on what helps most.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, reduce travel time, and allow check-ins from varied locations. Some formats are better for shorter check-ins while others suit deeper, longer work; discuss with Gretchen which option best matches your schedule and the kind of work you want to do.