Wendy Goffena, LCSW

Wendy Goffena is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with nine years as an LCSW and a total of 24 years working in mental health settings. She practices in Montana and has long experience in community mental health, medical social work, residential treatment, juvenile corrections, and partial and intensive outpatient programs. Wendy names helping people move past trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, and relationship problems as central to her work.

Wendy takes a client-centered approach and treats people as the experts on their own lives. She works alongside clients to set goals and to choose techniques that fit each person’s situation. Sessions focus on building practical skills and identifying strengths clients can use day to day.

She uses several therapy methods depending on a person’s needs, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to look at links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior, Dialectical Behavior Therapy to build mood regulation and interpersonal skills, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for processing traumatic memories. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and mindfulness strategies are also part of her practice.

Wendy has worked with adults across a wide age span and in varied settings, including care for people with chronic medical conditions and residents in inpatient programs. Her background includes work with military veterans and people facing complex mental health challenges in community settings.

Outside of clinical work she spends time outdoors hiking, fishing, gardening, and making art. That connection to Montana’s landscape informs her practical, down-to-earth style in sessions.

How therapy approaches translate to online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy uses acceptance and mindfulness alongside committed action. It helps people notice unhelpful thoughts, clarify values, and take steps toward a meaningful life. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and gives concrete exercises to change patterns that cause distress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy teaches mood regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills to manage strong emotions and improve relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will work together with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, symptoms, and preferences. That decision can change over time as needs shift and progress is made.

The original profile does not list specific online session formats, so confirm current options before booking. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let people use video or phone in ways that match their comfort and bandwidth. Licensed professionals can adapt ACT, CBT, and DBT techniques to remote sessions so people can practice skills between meetings and track progress over time.