Ann Ghabel, LISW

Ann Ghabel is a licensed independent social worker (LISW) based in Iowa with eleven years of clinical experience. She blends practical listening with direct strategies to help people who are stressed, anxious, grieving, or managing life changes. Ann aims to make the first steps toward help as simple and approachable as possible.

She draws on client-centered methods to make sessions focused on each person's goals and values. Cognitive behavioral techniques are used to identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. Dialectical behavior therapy skills and mindfulness practices are offered when people need tools for emotion regulation and distress tolerance.

Ann's background also includes long experience in inpatient child psychiatry as a nurse and as an educator in psychiatric nursing. That history informs a calm, experienced approach to complex concerns such as trauma, parenting strain, chronic health problems, and caregiver stress. She may also incorporate hypnotherapy and Brainspotting as tools when they fit a person's needs.

In a typical session she listens first, then helps set clear, achievable goals. She focuses on concrete skills people can use between appointments, like mood tracking, grounding, and simple cognitive exercises. The work aims to reduce daily distress and build routines that support better sleep, eating, and energy.

People who contact Ann are invited to describe their main concerns, try a few approaches, and adjust the plan as they go. She emphasizes collaboration so the therapy fits each person's rhythm and practical life demands.

How Ann's Approaches Translate to Online Work

Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and following what matters most to the person. Online sessions using this approach center the client's goals and let the therapist adapt pacing and tools to fit each situation.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and test small behavioral changes. In virtual sessions that can mean setting clear homework tasks, using mood logs, and practicing skills together during the appointment.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving relationships. Online DBT work often focuses on teaching distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and mindful awareness that can be practiced between meetings.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. Ann collaborates with each person to decide which methods match their needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts the plan over time based on what is helping.

The practical benefit of online therapy is flexibility. Ask about current session options before booking since formats were not specified in the biography. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a daily routine, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so people can focus on skills and steady progress.