Tara Porphy, LPC

Tara Porphy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in New Jersey who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship concerns, parenting challenges, addiction, grief, and issues around jealousy. She welcomes practical conversations and aims to make beginning therapy straightforward. Her style is down-to-earth and adaptable to what each person needs in the moment.

She has ten years of experience in mental health and has worked in home, office, residential, and telehealth settings. That work has included supporting people in recovery from substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns, running groups, and providing individual and family-based counseling. She also spent time helping family members cope when a loved one entered residential treatment.

Tara has supported people across the lifespan and has experience with anxiety, panic, depression, trauma, self-harm, and ADHD. She has worked with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, and with at-risk children and teens in home settings. She also helps parents who are struggling with the daily demands of caregiving.

Her approach draws on several methods that are chosen to fit the person in front of her. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address unhelpful thinking and behavior, Client-Centered techniques to keep conversations focused on the client's goals, and Attachment-Based ideas to understand relationship patterns. Mindfulness and Emotionally-Focused strategies are added when they match the person's needs.

Tara aims to collaborate on goals and practical steps. She encourages people to start small, try an idea in daily life, and return to discuss what worked. The focus is on clear, manageable changes rather than long lists of tasks.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online work

Tara often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviors. CBT can be useful for anxiety, depression, and managing sleep or panic symptoms. Client-Centered Therapy is another part of her work, which means the conversation stays focused on the client's priorities and pace rather than following a rigid agenda.

Attachment-Based ideas are used to understand patterns in close relationships and to help people feel more at ease in how they relate to others. These approaches tend to be practical and relational, so they can be adapted to conversations held online as well as in person. Tara will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and comfort level during early sessions.

Many people find online therapy helpful because it makes fitting sessions into a busy week easier and reduces travel time. Online work can support steady progress through regular check-ins and home-based practice between sessions. The original biography lists telehealth as one of the settings Tara has worked in, but it does not specify current session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Licensed professionals can help tailor session frequency and length to match daily life and responsibilities.