Pat Helton

LCSW, 26 years of experience
Warm
Authentic
Empowering

Hello! I am a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia. I work full-time at a residential substance use facility and part-time providing therapy online for individuals with mental health or co-occurring diagnoses. I have experience in helping clients with stress and anxiety, coping with addictions, trauma and abuse, & motivation, self-esteem, and confidence. I believe you are the expert on your story and have many strengths that will help you overcome the challenges you face. Taking the first step to sign up for therapy can take courage, and I hope you are proud of yourself for getting started!

Get to know me

In our first session together, here's what you can expect

In our first session, the individual can expect us to get to know each other and discuss what they want to achieve from their treatment. We would discuss any issues or concerns in their lives that they feel they want to address, and begin working toward identifying and prioritizing their goals of creating a better quality of life

The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions

I feel that building rapport with people is a strength of mine. I want to put the individual at ease. I am genuine and nonjudgmental, meeting the individual where they are in their healing process.

The clients I'm best positioned to serve

I love working with individuals who are in the action stage of change for making the choices and changes necessary to obtain and maintain recovery from substance use and stability in their mental health. I also love working with individuals who need to find who they are, set and maintain boundaries, gain empowerment, and identify and use their voices for positive life changes.

Specialties

Top specialties

Other specialties

Addiction

Bipolar Disorder

Self Esteem

I identify as

Serves ages

Licensed in

Location

Virtual

My treatment methods

Eclectic

Pat has over 26 years of experience working with individuals with both mental health and substance use diagnoses. She uses an eclectic approach that combines the most relevant techniques from evidence-based therapy modalities for an effective, individualized treatment plan. Pat understands that each individual is unique and has unique needs in therapy.

EMDR

I have been using EMDR for the past 9 years as a treatment intervention for individuals with trauma. The treatment focuses on using eye movement bilateral stimulation to desensitize traumatic memories and reprocess them.

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I have used cognitive behavioral therapy for the past 26 years. This model uses the approach that we respond to events in our lives by thinking, which influences our emotions, which then influences our actions.

, 46 ratings

11 ratings with written reviews

June 12, 2026

Pat is warm, solution oriented, and understanding. I have only been working with her for 3 weeks but the difference between now to the day before I met Pat is startling. She's really excellent!

Verified client, age 55-64
Review shared after session 2 with Pat

May 15, 2026

Pat is phenomenal and has been a huge help in getting me to reframe my thinking around working thru trauma. She’s also helping me to actually get out of the house! For a while (think several years) I shut myself in so this is huge progress. I’m slowly tuning back into things and also learning new methods on dealing with difficult situations and individuals.

Verified client, age 35-44
Review shared after session 16 with Pat

February 7, 2026

My heart couldn't have chose a better person for me to open up to ❤️

Verified client, age 55-64
Review shared after session 6 with Pat