Joseph Rifici (He/Him)
Practical, experienced counseling for life challenges
- Credentials
- LPCC
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed in
- Ohio
- Languages
- English
- Format
- Online sessions
About Joseph
Joseph Rifici is a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) with 14 years of clinical work. He practices from Ohio and brings experience in addiction care, mental health treatment, and supervision. He focuses on straightforward, practical help and prefers a warm, direct approach in sessions.
He trained at The Ohio State University and earned a Master of Arts in Education for Community Counseling from the University of Akron. Early in his career he provided individual and group therapy, brief family therapy, crisis intervention, and case management at a residential addiction treatment center.
Background and approach
Later he served as assistant clinical director, supervising staff and managing treatment operations. Joseph uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Existential Therapy as tools. He adapts those methods to each person’s needs and leans toward practical skills people can use between sessions.
His training includes specialized work in trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, and CBT training from the Beck Institute. Sessions are offered in English and delivered through video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging. Joseph notes that online work can be flexible and fit into busy schedules, and he aims to help people build skills for everyday life.
He lives in Ohio and spends free time reading, hiking, listening to music, and visiting with family and friends. Background and approach: Joseph emphasizes a collaborative process. He listens for what matters most to each person and helps set practical goals.
Therapy often mixes skill-building, values clarification, and work on unhelpful thinking patterns. He also draws on mindfulness and acceptance strategies to reduce distress and increase focus on meaningful actions.
Therapeutic approaches suited for online work
Joseph often uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns; CBT is practical and tends to focus on skills that can be practiced between sessions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is another approach he uses; ACT helps people clarify values and take committed actions even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present. He also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes listening, empathy, and creating a respectful space for people to find their own solutions.Finding the right approach is part of the work. He will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, needs, and preferences. That means trying techniques, checking how they feel in real life, and adjusting plans together rather than committing to a single model from the start.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to offer flexibility. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules and to continue work between appointments with written check-ins or exercises. The combination of practical methods and flexible formats aims to help people build skills and make steady progress on the issues that matter to them.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.
Client-Centered Therapy
The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT looks at the link between what you think, how you feel, and what you do. You work on noticing unhelpful patterns and practising steadier responses. It suits online sessions well, because much of the work happens between appointments and can be talked through from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Anger management
Also works with
- ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Ohio
- Languages
- English
Next step
Talk to Joseph
- Takes a few minutes
- Nothing to set up just to look
- Stop at any point