Christa Jacaruso

Christa Jacaruso is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 24 years of experience helping adults navigate tough personal challenges. She sees people who present well outwardly but feel stuck inside, and she focuses on practical change rather than quick fixes. Christa works in Connecticut and brings a direct, compassionate style to each session.

She spends time learning what matters to each person and then builds a plan together. That plan includes skills to manage strong emotions, reduce burnout, and handle relationship pain. She also supports people recovering from substance use and other compulsive behaviors.

A common reason people come to her is to recover from narcissistic relationships and emotional abuse. She helps clients understand confusing patterns, rebuild self-esteem, and set boundaries after manipulation or gaslighting.

Her work combines evidence-based techniques with mindfulness and creative methods like art therapy and clinical hypnotherapy. She often uses strategies drawn from Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help with emotional regulation and long-standing interpersonal problems.

Christa looks for motivated adults who are ready to take an active role in therapy. Sessions focus on identifying obstacles, practicing new coping skills, and building a realistic plan for lasting change. Her aim is steady progress toward a more balanced life.

Evidence-based techniques and online care

Christa integrates several evidence-based approaches into her work. Dialectical Behavior Therapy focuses on building skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and healthier interpersonal behavior, which can help when emotions feel overwhelming. Mindfulness practices teach present-moment awareness and stress reduction, useful for anxiety, burnout, and coping with life changes. Clinical hypnotherapy and art therapy are offered as complementary methods to access different kinds of insight and to support self-exploration and habit change.

Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. She will work with each client to identify goals, try methods that fit those goals, and adjust the plan based on what helps. Clients and therapist decide together which techniques to use and how to pace the work.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, shorten commute time, and allow for flexible check-ins around work or caregiving. It can also permit sessions that focus on skills practice, emotional processing, or planning between in-person visits when those options are available.