About JoAnne
JoAnne Waite is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Rhode Island who helps people facing stress, anxiety, grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, and the effects of trauma and abuse. She also supports clients dealing with addictions, eating and body image issues, and depression.
Background and approach
Her work includes addressing attachment concerns, family and blended family problems, and communication challenges. She brings 25 years of clinical experience to sessions and adapts her approach to each person.
Conversations are straightforward and focused on practical steps that fit daily life. JoAnne aims to be respectful, sensitive, and compassionate in every interaction.
In sessions she listens for patterns that keep problems repeating and helps people try different ways of responding. She works with the realities clients bring - relationship histories, parenting stress, or struggles with identity and sexual orientation.
Treatment plans are created together and adjusted as needs change. JoAnne is trained and licensed as an MA LMFT, Rhode Island LMFT.
She uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide work on trauma, obsessional thoughts, and postpartum mood concerns. Her experience includes supporting people affected by domestic violence and separation.
For those who prefer remote care, she offers several session formats and will discuss which option best fits a person’s schedule and communication style. Her style is collaborative, practical, and aimed at helping people feel clearer and more capable between sessions.
Evidence-Based Approaches and Online Care
JoAnne uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on clear, practical steps. One approach helps people identify unhelpful thought and behavior patterns and then practices alternative responses to reduce anxiety and obsessive thinking. Another approach addresses trauma and abuse by pacing work so people can process painful memories while learning coping skills to feel steadier in daily life.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences, and the problem at hand, and then recommend methods to try. This is a collaborative process and plans are adjusted as progress is made or needs change.
Online therapy offers flexible ways to connect. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when visual cues matter. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in fits a break at work. Live chat and text-based messaging suit people who prefer writing between sessions or need more frequent brief support.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Addictions
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Grief
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- LGBT
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
- Languages
- English