Ann GhabelLISW

Ann Ghabel is a licensed independent social worker (LISW) in Iowa with 11 years of clinical experience. She draws on a long career in mental health to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and parenting concerns. Ann aims to create a calm, nonjudgmental space where clients can speak openly about what matters most to them.

Her background includes many years working in inpatient child psychiatry as a nurse and teaching psychiatric nursing. That history shaped a practical, straightforward style. Sessions focus on clear goals, coping skills, and real changes people can try between meetings.

Ann uses approaches such as client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, hypnotherapy, and mindfulness. She matches techniques to a person’s needs and helps them learn tools for managing emotions, sleep, eating, or attention challenges. These methods are applied gently and at the client’s pace.

She also supports people dealing with trauma, abuse, family conflict, abandonment, adoption and foster care concerns, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and relationship separation. Ann works with mood concerns including bipolar disorder and disruptive mood issues using step-by-step strategies.

Finding a better day-to-day balance is often the main goal. Ann encourages small, measurable steps toward coping with life changes and rebuilding routine and resilience.

How therapy methods translate to online work

Client-centered therapy centers the client's experience and priorities, with the therapist listening carefully and shaping sessions around what the person brings. It helps with relationship stress, parenting concerns, and emotional overwhelm. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and testing new behaviors. It is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep and eating issues because it breaks problems into clear steps people can practice. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) offers skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and communication. It can help when mood swings, anger, or intense emotions interfere with daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options, try techniques that fit the client's goals, and adjust the plan based on what helps. This is a collaborative process where preferences and practical needs shape which methods are used.

Confirm the exact session formats before you book since the profile does not list them explicitly. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, reduce travel time, and allow check-ins during breaks. Some formats can be shorter for quick skill practice while others support deeper work over a full session. Talk with the therapist about what will fit your routine and what kind of meeting length and rhythm you prefer.