- Emotion-Focused Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Attachment work
About Valerie
Dr. Valerie McGaha is an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) in Oklahoma with 21 years of clinical experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship struggles, family concerns, and depression. She speaks English and works with adults who want clearer communication, steadier moods, and more satisfying daily life.
Dr. McGaha looks for the real obstacles that keep people stuck. She helps clients notice patterns, identify blocked emotions, and make small practical changes that can shift how they act and feel. Her work often addresses grief, trauma, and problems tied to substance use and family history.
She uses emotion-focused ideas alongside cognitive and behavioral tools to address thoughts, feelings, and actions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy methods are used to clarify what matters to a client and to build steps toward those values. Client-centered techniques keep sessions focused on the person's immediate concerns.
Dr. McGaha also works with attachment issues and relationship patterns that affect how people connect. She brings approaches that help people name emotions that are hard to put into words and then respond differently to them. This can help with communication problems, forgiveness, guilt, and shame.
Her background includes work with people facing serious life events such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and hoarding. She also has experience with personality-related concerns like avoidant and antisocial traits. For practical next steps, clients are asked to use the site's matching process to schedule a first session and start a plan together.
How her approaches translate to online work
Emotionally-Focused Therapy focuses on identifying and naming strong emotions and the interaction patterns they create. It can help people recognize how avoided feelings affect behavior and relationships, and then practice new ways of responding.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters most to them and to take small actions in that direction. ACT uses simple exercises to reduce avoidance and increase flexible action toward personal values.
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at early connection patterns that shape how people seek comfort and handle conflict. It can help someone see recurring relationship patterns and learn different ways to respond when stress triggers old dynamics.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That means trying techniques, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together.
Session logistics should be confirmed before booking since specific session formats are not listed in the biography. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example, shorter check-ins may work during a lunch break, and phone-based options can be useful when video would take more bandwidth. Ask about the current session formats and scheduling when you complete the matching questionnaire.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
21+ years
Listed in
Oklahoma
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship and family concerns, and depression, plus related issues like grief, communication problems, and shame.
What therapeutic approach does she use?
Her stated approaches include Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
How much experience does she have?
She has 21 years of clinical experience working in mental health settings and with people facing co-occurring disorders.
What are her credentials and location?
She is an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) practicing in Oklahoma.
Does she offer sessions in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English only.
Can international clients work with her?
She is not accepting international clients at this time.
How are fees and payment handled?
Cost varies with location and care; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to begin working together?
Choose the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session to get started.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.