Joelle Purdy

Joelle Purdy is a licensed independent social worker (LICSW) based in the District of Columbia who focuses on grief and end-of-life concerns. She approaches sessions with warmth and attentive listening to help clients name and understand what they are feeling. Her manner aims to create a calm space for people to make meaning of loss and to decide how they want to remember what mattered.

With four years listed as professional experience, she offers a mix of practical methods. Joelle uses client-centered conversation to follow each person’s priorities. She also draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to spot unhelpful thinking, and mindfulness practices to steady attention in hard moments.

Joelle has a background working with anticipatory grief, grief after loss, and the challenges of death and dying. She helps people process complex emotions tied to losing a job, a relationship, a role, or a loved one. She also addresses caregiver stress, compassion fatigue, and issues that come up as people age.

Her sessions often adapt to the person’s culture, goals, and values. Joelle uses motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques when clients want concrete steps toward change or clearer next moves. She describes her style as interactive, respectful, and compassionate.

People who are facing life transitions, wrestling with guilt or forgiveness, or seeking clearer purpose may find a practical partner in her work. To begin, she asks people to clarify goals and then tailors conversations to those goals.

How Joelle’s approaches translate to online care

Joelle combines client-centered conversation with cognitive behavioral and mindfulness tools to address grief and life changes. Client-centered work means sessions follow the client’s priorities and pace; the therapist listens and reflects to help people make sense of their experience. Cognitive behavioral ideas focus on noticing thought patterns that increase distress and trying small changes to see if things shift. Mindfulness practices teach simple attention exercises to reduce ruminating and ground someone during strong emotions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Joelle will talk with each person about goals and preferences, and together they decide which methods to try. She adjusts the mix of listening, skills practice, and brief goal-focused interventions as needs evolve.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule, shorten a check-in when needed, and allow people to join from different locations. It also lets the therapist guide simple mindfulness or behavioral exercises that can be practiced between meetings to support coping with grief, caregiver stress, and life transitions.