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TW Portrait of Tonya Wacker

Tonya Wacker

Compassionate, practical therapy for life transitions

LPC, LPCC Tennessee

Experience
14 years in practice
Focus areas
LGBT, Relationship, Self esteem
Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages
English
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About Tonya

Tonya Wacker brings 14 years of clinical experience to her Tennessee practice as an LPC and LPCC, working with people facing a broad array of emotional and relational challenges.

Background and approach

She emphasizes practical strategies alongside compassionate listening, drawing on cognitive behavioral techniques to help clients identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop new skills for managing stress, anxiety, mood concerns, and addictions. Her background includes work with relationship issues, identity and sexuality concerns, trauma and grief, parenting challenges, and career-related stress.

Her style blends client-centered care with evidence-informed methods, adapting therapy to each person rather than following a single formula. Tonya often incorporates DBT skills, existential perspectives, and mindfulness practices when they fit a client's goals, and she frames therapy as a collaborative process focused on building strengths, improving coping, and clarifying values.

She accepts international clients and offers multiple online formats to increase accessibility for those seeking support from outside Tennessee.

Approaches That Translate Well to Online Care

CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce symptoms and improve daily functioning; it is often used for anxiety, depression, stress, and coping with life changes and provides concrete skills clients can practice between sessions.

Client-centered therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and collaborative goal-setting, helping people feel heard and supported while they explore values, identity, and relationship concerns; this approach can create a compassionate space for personal growth in conversation-based formats.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) supplies practical skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness, which can be especially helpful for managing intense emotions, relationship difficulties, and patterns of impulsive behavior.

Choosing an approach is a collaborative process - the therapist will work with each client to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences and may blend techniques over time as progress and challenges emerge. Online sessions with licensed professionals can offer flexibility and easier access to care, and Tonya provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging so clients can pick the format that best fits their schedule and communication style.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Tonya commonly address?
She works with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy concerns, grief, trauma and abuse, addictions, parenting challenges, and identity-related matters such as LGBT and gender dysphoria.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her approach combines client-centered care with practical, skill-focused methods such as cognitive behavioral techniques and elements of DBT and mindfulness to help clients build coping strategies and clarify goals.
What experience does she bring?
She has 14 years of clinical experience and decades of work with couples and families, bringing both long-term perspective and practical tools to sessions.
Where is she licensed and based?
Tonya holds LPC and LPCC credentials and practices from Tennessee; her license details are TN LPC 5094 and KY LPCC 104252.
Can nonlocal clients work with her?
Yes, she accepts international clients and provides services to people located outside Tennessee.
In what formats are sessions offered?
She provides video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How is pricing handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the first steps to begin therapy?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to therapist availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

LGBTRelationship issuesSelf esteemDepressionCoping with life changes

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyAddictionsFamily conflictsTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesParenting issuesAnger managementCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAging and geriatric issuesBDSM, kink, and alternative sex cultureCommitment issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDivorce and separationEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaHIV / AIDSIsolation / lonelinessMidlife crisisVeteran and Armed Forces IssuesMoney and financial issuesMulticultural concernsPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPost-traumatic stressPrejudice and discriminationSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexual dysfunctionSexualityWomen's issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Existential TherapyMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused Therapy

Experience

14+ years

Licensed

Kentucky, Tennessee

Languages

English