Rochelle Nakoa , LCSW

Rochelle Nakoa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based in Missouri with 13 years of clinical experience. Her career has included hospice work supporting patients and families through end-of-life care, serving as a readjustment counselor to help veterans and their loved ones transition back to civilian life, and providing therapy for active military members addressing substance use and relationships with family and command.

In a leadership role as Chief of Mental Health within the Department of Corrections, she delivered individual and group therapy to men, women, and transgender incarcerated populations. These varied settings deepened her clinical focus on sexual trauma and intimate partner violence and informed a strengths-based approach to complex clinical needs.

She practices from a client-centered perspective, a therapy style that helps individuals clarify who they are and move toward who they want to become. This approach often includes organizing thoughts through writing and reflection to better understand circumstances and identify steps forward, all within a nonjudgmental therapeutic relationship aimed at reducing burden and shame. As an LCSW, Rochelle combines social work training with clinical skills to support people facing addictions, family and relationship challenges, trauma and abuse, mood and anxiety concerns, grief, parenting and caregiving stresses, ADHD, and other life transitions. At this time she is not accepting clients.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care

Rochelle draws on client-centered therapy to place the individual's goals and values at the center of the work. This approach emphasizes empathy, active listening, and the client's own capacity for growth, making it well suited for people seeking clarity about identity, relationships, or life direction.

She also uses attachment-based techniques that explore how early and current relationships shape patterns of connection, trust, and emotional regulation. This perspective can help with intimacy-related issues, abandonment concerns, and relationship challenges. Rochelle incorporates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify unhelpful thinking and develop practical coping skills, which can be helpful for anxiety, depression, stress, and behavior change.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Rochelle works with each person to identify goals, try different methods, and adjust the plan based on what feels most useful, tailoring treatment to the client's needs and preferences.

Online therapy with Rochelle is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, making it easier to connect from different locations and schedules. These options provide flexibility for ongoing care, allow timely access during life transitions, and support continued work between sessions with a licensed professional.