Polly Mortensen, LMHC

Polly Mortensen is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York with 21 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are facing stress, anxiety, life transitions, and losses. Polly combines practical skills with a warm, down-to-earth manner to help clients find their own strengths and move forward.

Her background includes long-term work in psychiatric rehab and home-based therapy programs. She has supported people with HIV, those in foster care, and clients with trauma histories. Polly also spent many years in vocational and rehabilitation counseling, assisting people with disabilities to build skills for work and independence.

Polly uses a mix of approaches to match what each person needs. She draws on client-centered methods to listen closely and on cognitive behavioral techniques to address patterns that cause distress. Mindfulness and dialectical behavior strategies are part of her toolkit for managing strong emotions and improving everyday coping.

Sessions focus on practical steps and clear goals. Polly helps with career decisions, relationship problems, grief, parenting concerns, ADHD, and caregiver stress among other issues. She aims to make therapy straightforward so people can use what they learn right away.

Polly works with the LGBTQIA+ community and with people who have experienced trauma. She emphasizes collaboration and respects each person's pace. If you want to explore next steps, she guides you in setting reasonable goals and building skills to reach them.

How therapeutic approaches guide online work

Client-centered therapy starts by focusing on what matters most to the person in front of the therapist. It means listening closely, reflecting concerns, and shaping sessions around a person's own goals and values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the thoughts and behaviors that keep problems going and teaches concrete steps to change them. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, offers skills for handling intense emotions and improving relationships through emotion regulation and distress tolerance techniques.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Polly will collaborate with clients to decide which methods fit their needs and preferences. That might mean starting with client-centered conversations, then adding CBT tools or DBT skills as goals become clearer.

The therapist's biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm current session options before booking. Many people appreciate online therapy because it can make scheduling easier and cut travel time, which helps fit sessions into work or caregiving days. Other practical benefits include shorter check-ins when time is limited and options that avoid being on camera if that feels better. Talk with the therapist about what will work best for your routine and goals, and she will help arrange a plan that fits everyday life.