Addiction therapists & psychiatrists in West Hartford, CT

Taking the first step toward therapy can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it alone. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 16 years of experience providing therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. Throughout my career, I have worked in community mental health and held leadership roles overseeing outpatient mental health programs.

I specialize in helping individuals navigate trauma, anxiety, depression, ADHD, infertility, women’s issues, and life transitions. I believe that while our experiences shape us, they do not have to define us. I am trained EMDR and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and tailor treatment to each person’s unique needs and goals.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years experience helping people navigate life's challenges. As an empathetic and person-centered therapist, I work with adults living with anxiety, depression, substance use and trauma.

Emil Pauling has 16 years of experience treating adolescents, young adults, adults, and families with varied challenges. Emil takes a holistic, strength-based approach to empower clients to meet their goals. Emil also has 34 years of combined experience in teaching, crisis intervention, and facilitating therapeutic and music programs. Life has its challenges. Finding joy in exploring your interests like music and humor can create a nice balance.

My name is Kari, a clinician with over 20 years of experience working with individuals who are ready for change, want to discover themselves, overcome barriers and achieve stability and resilience. I believe you are the expert of your life and I am here to help guide you along your journey to self-awareness, provide practical tools to assist with obtaining and maintaining your mental health goals and celebrating your successes along the way.

Most of us haven’t made it through life without a few bruises. Sometimes we lose touch with ourselves along the way, shaped by what we’ve been through and the weight of those experiences.

That doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. It means you adapted. Sometimes beautifully. Sometimes painfully. Often both.

Therapy is a space to slow down, get curious, and gently begin untangling what you’ve been carrying. Together, we can explore your story with compassion, reconnect with who you are beneath old patterns, and move toward a way of living that feels more aligned, grounded, and authentic.

I help women move through fear, self-doubt, and old patterns so they can step into clarity, confidence, and fulfillment — both personally and professionally. Many of my clients are navigating transitions like ending relationships, redefining careers, or growing businesses while trying to protect their mental health. Together, we focus on strengthening self-trust, setting boundaries, and creating a mindset that supports lasting change. As a therapist and mindset coach, I combine evidence-based tools with forward-focused coaching to help you move from awareness to action — and build the confidence to trust yourself again.

Hi, I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor–Diagnostic (LMHC-D) and CASAC with a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I work with adults and adolescents facing anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, personality concerns, substance use, and life stress. My approach is warm, supportive, and practical. I use tools from CBT, DBT, and Motivational Interviewing to help you better understand yourself and make real, lasting changes. My goal is to create a space where you feel comfortable, understood, and empowered to move forward.

Great to meet you!

Reaching out for therapy can feel intimidating, so if you’re here, you’ve already taken a really meaningful first step.

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who works with individuals, couples, and families navigating a variety of challenges. I specialize in working with addiction, couples and relationship concerns, family dynamics, autism-related support, and anxiety and depression.

My background includes working in both school systems and clinical settings, which has given me the opportunity to support people from many different backgrounds and life stages. Through this work, I’ve developed a strong passion for helping people better understand the patterns within their relationships and families.

Many of the clients I work with are trying to improve communication with a partner or family member, navigate the impact of addiction, support a loved one on the autism spectrum, or manage feelings of anxiety and depression that are affecting daily life.

No matter what brings you to therapy, my goal is to create a space that feels supportive, honest, and human; where you can show up exactly as you are without fear of judgment.

You're the one people call when things fall apart. You're good at it — steady, competent, the person who knows what to do. And somewhere along the way you stopped having anywhere to put your own stuff.

So you can run the meeting, hold the crisis, answer the phone at 2 a.m. — and still not be able to make yourself open the mail. Competence and collapse live together far more often than anyone admits out loud.

I work with adults carrying that particular load: substance use and recovery, emotions that arrive at full volume with no dimmer switch, thoughts of self-harm or not wanting to be here, and the specific erosion that comes from caring for other people for a living. Helpers, clinicians, parents, first responders — people whose exhaustion doesn't have an obvious place to go. I work with teenagers too, often the ones in families like these.

My style is direct, warm, and collaborative. I'm not going to nod quietly for fifty minutes. We'll find what's actually driving things, build skills you can use on a Tuesday afternoon when it counts, and I'll tell you honestly what I'm seeing. You set the pace. I'll bring the structure.

As a clinician, I enjoy working with everyone in all phases of life helping in building self-esteem, managing addiction, trauma, self-discovery, medication management, anger management, re-establishing one's dreams/purpose, building/strengthening relationships one has with self, partners or family systems.

I have worked with foster children, young adults, primary care staff and patients, those who struggled with substance abuse in a methadone clinic, provided supervision to non-licensed social workers in the hospital.

I welcome the opportunity to meet with you for a consultation to see if working together would be a great match like a grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwich.

Best of luck on your journey to health and wellness.

Real support for real life, wherever you are in your journey.

As an LCSW with more than a decade of experience, I work with adults who are navigating anxiety, depression, and life's inevitable turning points. Outside the office, my life is full with my small children and energetic puppy. I share that because I understand, firsthand, how full and unpredictable life can feel, and how hard it can be to carve out space just for you. That's exactly what our time together is for.