Wendy Goffena, LCSW - Therapist in Montana

About Wendy

Wendy Goffena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nine years holding the LCSW credential. She practices in Montana and brings a long history in mental health settings, including work with adults across a wide age range. Wendy focuses on family and parenting concerns alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and other life stressors.

She stays practical in sessions and aims to help parents and families find clearer ways to manage daily challenges.

Background and approach

Her background includes community mental health, medical social work, inpatient residential treatment for youth, and work in correctional and child protective settings. That variety informs how she thinks about family dynamics and individual needs. She uses hands-on methods to help people notice patterns, shape goals, and try concrete changes at home.

In the therapy room she combines several approaches. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps clients see how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connect. Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches mood regulation and coping skills like mindfulness and distress tolerance.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing supports processing of past trauma that still affects daily life. Wendy emphasizes a client-centered, strengths-based stance. She works together with people to set the direction and pace of therapy.

Her style is collaborative and straightforward, aimed at building confidence and practical coping skills that can be used at home. Outside work she enjoys outdoor activities in Montana, including hiking, fishing, camping, and gardening. She also pursues art and exploring local history in her free time.

Therapeutic approaches that work well online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on helping people accept difficult thoughts and feelings while committing to actions that match their values. It can help with stress, anxiety, life changes, and parenting decisions by clarifying what matters and supporting small behavior changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact and uses practical exercises to shift unhelpful patterns. It is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and everyday parenting stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will talk with each person about needs, goals, and preferences, and then suggest methods to try. That choice is collaborative and may change as progress is made or new issues arise.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which offer flexibility for parents and families juggling busy schedules. These formats allow people to work with a licensed professional from home or elsewhere, making it easier to fit sessions around school, work, and caregiving responsibilities. Practical tools and skill-building exercises can be shared during sessions and practiced between meetings to support change in daily life.

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

What concerns does she address related to family life?

She supports parents and families with parenting challenges, family problems, relationship strain, grief, and coping with life changes. Other common concerns include stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

How would you describe her therapy style?

Her style is client-centered and collaborative. She focuses on building strengths, setting clear goals, and teaching practical skills that can be used at home.

What is her relevant professional background?

She has nine years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and many more years in mental health roles across community, medical, inpatient, and correctional settings. That range informs her work with individuals and families.

Which credentials and location apply to her practice?

She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Montana. License details include WY LCSW LCSW-1068 and MT LCSW BBH-LCSW-LIC-31489.

In which languages are sessions offered and can international clients participate?

Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.

What session formats are available for people living at a distance?

Sessions can be done by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.

How are costs handled for sessions?

Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

What steps are required to begin working together?

Begin by selecting the Start Therapy button, completing a short matching questionnaire, and then scheduling according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience: 9 years
Licensed: Montana, Wyoming
Languages: English

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