LMSW
Ruth Westfall, LMSW
- Experience30 years
- LocationMichigan
- Focus areasADHD, Stress and Anxiety, and Trauma and abuse
- Therapy approachesClient-Centered Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Check the available next steps for working with Ruth online.
About Ruth
Ruth Westfall is a licensed social worker with 30 years of clinical experience who centers her practice on trauma-informed care and stress-related concerns.
Background and approach
She draws on a client-centered framework to help people identify strengths and build practical skills, and she also incorporates cognitive and mindfulness-based techniques to address persistent anxiety, depression, and the long-term effects of traumatic events.
Ruth's background includes extensive work with victims of crime and direct experience observing how prolonged stress can ripple through physical health, relationships, work, and daily functioning. Her approach emphasizes collaboration and skill-building, using tools from Dialectical Behavior Therapy, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness to help clients manage symptoms such as panic, mood instability, and compassion fatigue.
Ruth has worked in public health settings alongside psychiatric providers, giving her a perspective on how trauma and stress can accumulate over years and across life domains. She aims to help clients recognize strengths, practice self-care on emotional and physical levels, and develop coping strategies for challenges including grief, relationship strain, ADHD-related struggles, and caregiver stress.
Therapeutic approaches adapted for online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on creating a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where the client's own goals guide the work; it helps people explore feelings, clarify values, and mobilize personal strengths. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical strategies to identify and change unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, often helpful for anxiety, depression, panic, and mood disorders. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) provides concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, which can be useful for mood instability, anger, and relationship difficulties.
Deciding which approach fits best is part of the therapeutic process. Ruth will work collaboratively with each person to select and adapt methods that match their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting tools as progress and circumstances evolve. This partnership helps tailor interventions without assuming a single path for everyone.
Offering video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging provides flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to access consistent support from licensed professionals while balancing work, family, or health-related constraints, and they allow skills-focused therapies like CBT and DBT to be practiced and reinforced between sessions.
Frequently asked questions
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Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Licensed
Michigan
Languages
English
What Ruth can help with
Ruth Westfall works with clients on stress and anxiety, trauma and abuse, parenting issues, depression, and coping with life changes.
Ruth works with trauma and victims of crime.
How Ruth approaches therapy
Ruth's clinical approaches include Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Somatic Therapy, and Trauma-Focused Therapy.
Experience and training
Ruth is a Licensed Masters Social Worker practicing in Michigan, with 30 years of clinical experience.